Cinderella Dressed in White
by prettypinklips
Summary: Cheerleaders aren't supposed to last in a zombie apocalypse. Not unless they're like Buffy the Vampire Slayer or something, but here she is, kicking ass and taking names. -— Damon/Caroline, Stefan/Katherine, AU
1. Chapter 1

**Cinderella Dressed in White**

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—

_Guns are scary,_ she thinks to herself as she drops the shotgun she's been carting around for two weeks onto the surprisingly clean carpet of the deserted suburban house she's decided to make her home for the night. It's kind of funny, actually. Before her friend's and family dropped dead and rose to their feet an hour later, she'd always thought of herself as kind of a badass. She'd sang at the talent show and knocked everyone dead when they were sure she'd choke, she'd earned herself a spot on the cheer team as cheer captain, and she'd ruled her school with an iron fist (mostly just for prom votes, but whatever.) She hadn't been afraid of anything.

Except that's not entirely true, is it? Because she's terrified now.

Anyway, she's scared of guns because they're unpredictable. They buck and pull and she can't seem to aim them just right, but it's all she's got left for comfort. She's been alone for two weeks. Her mommy was gone. Her best friend Bonnie was gone. Her boyfriend Matt was gone. She'd never see them again. She'd never kiss Matt or hug her mom or gossip with Bonnie again. The shotgun her mom had kept hanging above their fireplace from her glory days as a hunter was all she had left besides a few knickknacks she'd managed to scavenge from her home before the crazies in the street had detected her. She had pictures, Matt's sweatshirt, and a necklace Bonnie had given her for her fourteenth birthday. It was actually kind of sad but she'd been panicking and she'd grabbed the first things she had seen and shoved them into her backpack.

Methodically, she does the same four things she'd been doing since she'd started hunkering down in empty houses. She checks each room for those..._things. _She goes through the cupboards and dumps any canned foods or water bottles she can find into her backpack. She searches for anything of use. And finally, she searches for a companion.

_Hollywood never gets it right,_ she thinks as she climbs the stairs of the home she's broken into. More often than not, Hollywood is wrong in thinking zombie apocalypses are anything but terrifying. She remembers watching those _Resident Evil _movies with Matt and thinking that Alice was totally badass, but that zombies in general were kind of unrealistic. _Oh, the irony. _Of course, she's not sure that the things that have killed her family and friends are zombies, exactly. They walk slow, they make that ridiculous moaning noise, and they seem to enjoy human flesh, but still, she's not sure.

See, she's from Texas, and Texas has a fucking huge population. It's kind of scary to think that her state is now home to a bunch of Texans who aren't starving for just beer and ribs anymore. No, now they were hungry for brains and it was just really gross. She'd never been particularly girly, but after watching her neighbors being eaten alive by _zombies, _she'd not really afraid to admit that blood and gore freak her out.

The shotgun rests heavy on her shoulder as she breathes out through her nose slowly, a hunting trick her mom had taught her. She listens quietly for any noises as she exhales, taking in the silence of the atmosphere. Her shoulders tense. Silence isn't good.

She spills from the stairs into a long hallway. The walls are painted a cheerful yellow and it's almost ironic. The floorboards creak as she ghosts down the hall. The first door on the right is open an inch, and she peers inside. It's a baby's room. Dolls and stuffed animals litter the floor, and her stomach lurches as she spies a drying pool of blood in the center of the room. So _they've_ been here. She pushes the door open, swinging the shotgun off of her shoulder and into her hands. She wills her legs to stop shaking as she advances quickly into the room.

It's clear.

She breathes a heavy sigh of relief.

Suddenly, she's tired. She heaves herself onto the bed that looks like it belongs to a little girl, princess sheets and all. She doesn't really care that she hasn't checked the rest of the house, but a voice starts yelling in the back of her head and it says _get up get up you stupid girl, you'll die. _She doesn't get up. Across from the bed, a TV stand with a small pink TV on it is muted and playing static. She gets up slowly, ignoring the pool of blood as she searches the ground for the pink remote. She finds it, clicking a random button and she's met with the DVD menu of her favorite childhood movie _Cinderella._

"Huh." she murmurs, pressing play and turning the volume up. The Disney castle flashes across the screen and for a moment she forgets she's in a post-apocalyptic world. She's half surprised the TV even works. Most of the houses she'd been in didn't even have running water. If this place has electricity, maybe she can make herself a microwave meal or something instead of the boring canned foods she's been eating for the past couple of days. Maybe she could even have a hot shower.

But she has to clear the house, first.

She's relieved when she finds that the house is empty and that they do, in fact, have running water. The first thing she does is lock the doors and windows, then she turns the shower up as high as it will go and sheds her clothing. She's been wearing the same wife beater, jeans, bra, underwear, socks, and combat boots for the past week. She scrubs herself raw in the shower. Her skin stings, but she doesn't really care. After an hour, the water runs cold. She climbs out, pulling the fluffy white bathrobe she'd found in the master bedroom around herself.

_The little things bring the most joy, _she thinks, quoting her mom. She enters the master bedroom again, hoping the mother of the child that had lived in the princess room had something she can wear. In all of her strategizing and planning, she'd never bothered to grab extra clothes. She opens the closet doors and grabs the first pair of women's jeans she sees. They're a little big, but she's got a belt and she's not complaining. She pulls on her old bra, her old tank top, then Matt's OSU sweatshirt. She ignores the sting in her heart as she catches a faint whiff of his cologne.

She goes back to the princess room after going through the cupboards and coming up with a bag of cookies and some chips. She hasn't had cookies in almost a week. She was starting to miss them. She watches _Cinderella _and _The Little Mermaid _and _Sleeping Beauty_ and _Snow White_ and _Hercules_ and it's the best night she's had in weeks. She falls asleep to the sounds of Meg singing that she won't say she's in love.

_—  
><em>

_Matt calls her first thing in the morning from Oregon. He's been attending college there for a semester, and her heart aches because Oregon is a long way from Texas._

_She opens her phone, smiles brightly and says, "Hey!"_

_"Turn on the news." is his urgent reply._

_Blinking rapidly, she does as she's told. "What's up?" she asks, a little worriedly. Matt **never **watches the news._

_"Something's going on, Car." he says, and he sounds a little scared. She sits up straight on the couch as he continues, "We can't get in touch with Canada or Mexico, and the last string of reports we had from them were the videos from yesterday."  
><em>

_Yesterday at around noon, she had woken up from her first day of spring break to her mother shrieking. Figuring it was a spider or something, she'd climbed out of bed and marched downstairs. Her mom was sitting in front of the TV, eyes glued to the screen.  
><em>

_"What's going on?" she asks._

_"Shh!" comes her mom's harsh whisper. She sits beside her on the couch, and her mom puts a hand on her shoulder but doesn't take her eyes from the TV._

_It's a news report, and the lady dressed in a nice grey suit. She has a thick Spanish accent and she is standing in front of some sort of federal building and something that looks like a riot is going on behind her. She reads the headline running across the bottom of the screen. "News report coming live from Mexico City."_

_She tunes in, head cocked as she listens to the news caster shriek about how the citizens of Mexico are attacking each other. Behind the news caster, a man launches himself at a crying woman, and the others around him follow suit._

_"Is this some kind of a joke?" she whispers as the news caster turns, lets out a scream, and begs the camera man to turn the camera off. The screen goes blank._

_"We don't know." her mom answers. "But Canada broadcasted the same thing."_

_She shakes her head. No, the videos and what Matt is talking about couldn't be related. She thinks the videos are some kind of sick prank and she hopes whoever is responsible for scaring the hell out of America is arrested._

_"I don't know for sure," Matt is saying, "but please don't go outside. I don't know how much longer the phone lines are going to be on, and I don't know if I'll be able to reach you in a couple of days."_

_"Matt..." she starts._

_"No, just-just listen to me. I know this seems like some kind of trashy zombie movie, but something is going on, Car, and I don't want you to get hurt because you think you're badass. Stay indoors, and tell your mom the same thing."_

_She looks at the TV, and for the first time, she notices that the women of Good Morning America are crying and saying something about the end of the world._

_It occurs to her that maybe this isn't a joke._

_"Okay, Matt. Okay." she whispers, and he breathes a sigh of relief._

_"I love you." he murmurs._

_"I love **you.**" she replies._

_"Stay safe, I'll call you in a few hours." he hangs up._

_—  
><em>

He never calls.

Her name is Caroline Forbes. And she's completely alone in the world.

—

Caroline is sure that there are probably a few people still milling about, but if there are, she hasn't seen them. All she's seen as she moves from house to house in the dead of night or the early morning (when_they _are least likely to attack) is the corpses of the people that had lived in the houses around her only three short weeks before.

Caroline sits up, hand immediately flying to her shotgun. She keeps it under her pillow as she sleeps. Easy access.

Standing and stretching, she strides to the door, kicking stuffed animals and dolls out of her way. She feels a little bad, but then she reminds herself that the little princess who had lived here three weeks ago probably isn't a princess anymore. She kicks a few more stuffed animals for good measure. She can't be soft anymore. Not today. Not _now._ Not with what's happening.

The house is pretty much empty of anything she can use, but she does find some lighters, a pocket knife, a flashlight, and another bag of cookies. She crams the stuff she finds into her bag, along with Matt's sweatshirt. She slips the knife into her belt and hopes she won't have to use it until much, much later (if at all). She laces up her boots before lifting her wrist and checking the time. Nine in the morning. Three weeks ago, she wouldn't have even been awake at this time. _Things change, _she reminds herself briskly. She knows that the noise from the TV and the lights on in the house last night must have attracted at least a few of _them,_ and if she doesn't take care of the few now, more and more will come and she really doesn't plan on dying today. The quicker she gets rid of them the better.

Caroline goes upstairs one more time before she leaves and slips some things from the master bathroom into her backpack (she's always been a sucker for vanilla perfume), then she goes to the princess room. With a sad sigh, she picks up a stuffed Simba. She had one from the Disney store when she was little and she remembers carting it around with her everywhere until her mom told her she was too old for stuffed animals. She puts Simba into her backpack and hopes the princess of this room can forgive her for stealing something that had obviously been precious to her.

—

Taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders, Caroline checks the shotgun one last time to make sure the cartridges are in properly. She can't have problems like faulty ammo or a delayed shot with what she's about to do. She's standing in front of the front door, lips pursed. She looks out the small glass window in the center of the door, and it's just as she expected.

A woman wearing a pink nightie is standing in the yard, staring at the door while a mailman mills about behind her. The rest of the street looks empty, and she breathes a sigh of relief. She's only killed twelve times before this, and each time doesn't get any easier.

It's only when she's about to open the door that she notices it. The flash of a curtain moving in an upstairs window across the street. She jumps, a little scared, but then the curtain moves again.

This time, a boy appears in the window. He's got dark hair and light skin and she'd probably say he was beautiful if he wasn't one of those things. But then she takes a closer look. The boy has a gun, and he's sliding the window open. He lowers his head and flips the scope of his rifle up, and Caroline ducks under the window just as he takes a shot. Blood spatters the front door and the window she'd been looking out of. She gets up, peaking out of the small window. The woman wearing the nightie is gone. She's on the ground, a bloody mess. The boy in the window is wearing a satisfied smirk, and this time she's sure he's beautiful. He loads his gun again, and then it hits her.

There's a _person._ A living, breathing, _human _person just across the street from her. And he has a gun. And he's cute.

Caroline sinks back down, biting her lip. He probably doesn't even know she's across the street in the house he's shooting at. What if he wants to be left alone? What if—

Caroline shakes her head. Nobody wants to be alone these days. The shotgun is still in her hand, and it feels a little lighter. She stands up, ready to fling the door open when she sees that the boy in the window is gone. She bites her lip again, but quickly perks up as she sees him opening the front door of his own house, pistol in hand. She almost screams in joy when she realizes he's not alone. A pretty brunette girl is behind him, and she's got a butcher knife in her hands. She looks fierce, but Caroline doesn't care. She hasn't seen another girl (except for _them_) in weeks.

The boy and the girl cross the street quickly, and she flings the door open just as the mailman falls to the ground at the slim brunette's feet. She turns to the boy, smirking proudly and wiping her butcher knife on the mailman's uniform.

"Nice." the boy remarks, and his voice is husky and rough. She likes it.

The brunette looks up at her then, and her mouth drops open as she stares at Caroline. She elbows the boy in the side, and his head snaps up to see Caroline. The boy blinks at her, clearly surprised.

Without thinking (it's almost a habit), she swings the shotgun off of her shoulder and aims it at them. After all, she doesn't know for sure if they're human. They could have been bitten. She's not going to take any chances. She stands her ground as the boy sighs, lifting his own pistol and aiming it at her. It's almost as if he doesn't care that she's aiming a shotgun at him. The brunette girl licks her lips before saying, "Jesus, Damon, put the gun down. She's cute, and she's human." she elbows Damon and he glares at her.

"If she puts hers down." he says through his teeth, his eyes trained on her's.

"Is that _really_ how you treat a lady?" the brunette smirks, and Damon rolls his eyes, lowering his pistol.

Caroline blinks at him. He's super cute, and if she didn't have Matt-

Caroline shakes her head quickly. _Now isn't the time to think about your presumed dead boyfriend, _she thinks to herself as she lowers her shotgun.

"I'm Caroline." she says. The brunette lifts her eyebrows.

"Occupation?" Damon asks, as if her job description matters.

"Head cheerleader, prom queen, and high school senior." she says, swinging her shotgun up onto her shoulder.

The brunette looks impressed while Damon snorts. The brunette rolls her eyes, "I'm Katherine, and this is Damon. He's an asshole, don't mind him."

"Bitch." Damon mutters before turning and walking back to his house.

"C'mon," Katherine says, "if you've got nowhere else to go, you can ride with us. We've got an SUV and I'm sure we can squeeze you in." Caroline blinks in surprise. She hasn't seen a car in days.

"Is it just you two?" she asks, following Katherine as she walks across the street.

Katherine shakes her head. "No, there are two more with us. Damon's brother and a kid we picked up last week."

Caroline is pleasantly surprised. "Where are you headed?"

"Virginia. We're looking for my sister Elena. She was visiting our mom and dad when the world got fucked." Katherine says, (something flashes in her eyes as she says 'mom and dad') opening the door of the house. She turns back to Caroline. "Don't mention Elena to Damon. She's his girlfriend, and-" she takes a breath, "and he thinks she's still alive, but if you knew my sister, you'd know that she couldn't even play a zombie video game without crying." Katherine looks down, "I don't think she's alive, and I think the most we'll find of her is a walking corpse." she bites her lip. "Just don't mention her, okay?"

Caroline nods, feeling a little sorry for both Katherine _and _Damon. "I won't say a word." she promises.

"Good." Katherine says, the ghost of a smile lighting her face as she holds her arm out in a sweeping gesture. "Welcome to our humble abode."

**—**

**notes: **edited and re-uploaded.


	2. Chapter 2

**Cinderella Dressed in White**

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—

Caroline notes that Damon glares at her the entire time. She's not sure why. She hasn't done anything to him. Well, she's pointed a gun at him but it's not like she'd shot him or anything. His cerulean blue eyes follow her the entire time as Katherine leads her deeper into the house. He's standing on the stairs, watching as Katherine takes her down a hall to what looks like the kitchen. The layout is much the same as the house she'd been in last night. She glances at him as she passes by. His fingers tighten around his pistol, his lips curl, and the look he gives her makes her want to shrink up and die. But she sneers at him, flipping her hair in his direction and marching after Katherine. She knows boys like him. Pretty rich boys who throw fits when they don't get what they want. A part of her feels bad for him. She knows what it's like to lose someone you love, but then again, she's not going around being an asshole to everyone she sees.

The kitchen is bright, mostly because of the curtain-less window, and two boys are sitting at a little round table in the center of the room. The first boy, the one with the strong jaw and bright green eyes stares at her curiously as she enters the kitchen behind Katherine. The other turns in his seat, his sharp nose and dark eyes doing something funny to her stomach. _Is everyone in this house beautiful? _she wonders idly. "Stefan, Tyler." Katherine greets, reaching behind her and grabbing Caroline's elbow. She pulls Caroline forward. "This is Caroline. She's going to be staying with us for now." Katherine says, giving them a look that dares them to argue.

"Hi, Caroline. I'm Stefan." the green eyed boy says, smiling warmly at Caroline. She can't help but smile back.

The other boy, Tyler, grins at her. "Nice legs." he comments, nodding at her jean clad legs. "They'd look great-"

Caroline cocks her head, her fingers tightening around her shotgun, and interrupts his terrible innuendo. "Nice ego. It's exceptionally large."

Tyler's grin widens, and he remarks to Katherine. "I like her."

"Of course you do." Stefan says, rolling his eyes.

Caroline can't help but let a small smile pass over her face. Perhaps she'll like it here. They all seem nice enough, and they're human, a definite plus. She turns to look over her shoulder for a moment, her eyes scoping the stairs. Damon is gone, but she still feels eyes on her. It makes her slightly uncomfortable. She was used to being looked at, checked out, and lusted after, but the way he looked at her...

Like he hated her. Caroline swings her head back around, shaking her head back and forth once to get the blue eyed boy out of her head. There was no possible way he could hate her, he didn't even _know_her! Maybe he just wasn't a very nice person. But then again, he had gotten along just fine with Katherine. _But she **is** his girlfriend's sister, _Caroline reminds herself. It dawns on her then. In some cases of grief, the griever becomes cold and angry. Losing a girlfriend, and probably most of his family would drive any man mad. She feels sorry for him again. The sorrow she feels for him outweighs the discomfort she feels when he glares at her. He's hurting, and Caroline can't ever pass up a charity case. She makes a mental note to be a little nicer to him, not too nice, but nicer.

—

Katherine gives her the room right across from Damon's. It had once belonged to a teenaged girl and there's clothes littering the floor and blood spatters on the walls, covering up her distasteful music posters. Caroline rips the posters down and mops up as much of the blood as she can. It stains her hands and she tries not to cry because this is her life now. Blood stained hands are what she is becoming accustomed to.

Caroline's washing her hands in the bathroom when Damon appears in the doorway behind her. She jumps when he meets her eyes in the mirror. "I hope you know how to use that shotgun." he snaps before she can ask him what he wants. "And I hope your cheerleader legs can handle a little running." he sneers at her, and she can't help but internally cringe. She glares at him and he glares right back.

Caroline spins around, her hair flying, "You're an asshole." she snaps before she can stop herself. She's never been one to keep quiet.

A gloomy look passes over his eyes, and she feels a little bad until he opens his mouth again. "Watch yourself, little girl. You're in the real world now." before spinning around and slipping down the hallway.

—

Caroline tosses and turns that entire night.

The bed she's in doesn't feel right, and the movie that's playing in the background is too sad. She sits up, kicking her legs restlessly. She needs to walk. She walks when she's nervous or impatient, and it always (somehow) makes her feel better. There's really no place that she can walk to, but she can pace the hall until she's tired enough to sleep.

Caroline cracks her door open and slips into the deserted hallway. The lights are off in all of the rooms, and she feels a little better knowing that there are people within five feet of her. Not all of them are nice, exactly, but she has a feeling that if she needed Damon, he would be there. He seems the type. The type with a hero complex. She paces a few times down the hallway, murmuring to herself before she hears it. It's a sharp keening sound, and it's coming from Damon's room.

Caroline pauses in front of his door, mentally weighing her options. On the one hand, he could have a zombie in his room. On the other hand, he could be doing something that he doesn't want anyone to know. She presses her ear to his door, listening intently. The noise comes again, and with a start, she realizes he's sobbing. She presses her ear against the door harder. He's saying _Elena _and _I'm so sorry_ in between sobs. She bites her lip, her hands against the door. He lets out a gut wrenching sound and she jumps, her foot kicking the door hard. She squeals, covering her mouth, slipping into her room and diving under the covers just as Damon's sobs stop and his door slams open. Her door creaks open next, and she slams her eyes shut, feigning sleep.

Damon watches her for a moment. She cracks one eye open, preying he won't see her eyes open in the dark. He looks sad, and if she's gonna be honest, a little lost. His hair is a mess and he looks incredibly scruffy with his five o'clock shadow. He rubs a hand tiredly over his face before he closes her door.

Caroline closes her eyes once again, a little scared of what she's just witnessed. Before, she wasn't even sure that Damon would have something as mundane as tear ducts. He's such a hard ass that he'd probably done something Sue Sylvester esque and had had them surgically removed. She doesn't like the new side of him that she's just seen. The side of him that cries in the middle of the night.

—

Caroline wakes up screaming. A cold hand is on her bare foot beneath her blanket. She kicks her feet, nailing her assailant in the face. On instinct, she reaches for her shotgun while kicking the blankets off of her legs. She shoots up, standing on the bed and aiming the barrel of her trusted gun at...

_Tyler._

"Tyler!" Caroline screeches in outrage. The boy in question is rolling on the ground, clutching his nose.

"I think you broke my nose!" he wails.

"_Good!_" Caroline snaps. "We'll stick you outside and let your blood do the god damn talking." she's pissed, frankly. She doesn't even feel bad for making a zombie bait joke at his expense. She could have _shot_him!

The door slams open the next second, Katherine, Stefan, and oddly enough, Damon, spilling into her room. Katherine has the butcher knife from the day before in her hand, and she looks wild. Stefan's got what looks like a shovel, and Damon has his pistol.

Katherine takes one look at Tyler on the floor and Caroline's look of fury and instantly knows what happened. She kicks Tyler's feet, eliciting a squeak of pain from the boy. Stefan rolls his eyes, dropping the head of his shovel onto the carpet. Damon lowers his pistol, his eyes landing on Caroline. She's still standing on the bed, shotgun at the ready. She hasn't decided if she's going to shoot Tyler or not.

"You alright?" Damon asks her gruffly.

Caroline nods. "I'm fine."

Damon nods once, then he turns to Tyler. Tyler lowers his hands from his face and stands up before Damon grabs the collar of his shirt and slams him against the wall. "Do something like that again and I'll kill you myself." he hisses in Tyler's face.

Tyler nods shakily while Katherine and Stefan look mildly surprised. Damon releases Tyler before stalking out of the room.

—

Things had quieted down after that mornings fiasco.

Stefan makes breakfast, and Caroline takes great interest in watching Damon interact with his little brother. He was still gruff and rude, but somehow, she could tell he loved his brother. Though even Stefan didn't escape the smartass and mostly mean remarks that seemed come so easily to Damon. The brothers banter back and forth, Caroline watching from the kitchen table as Stefan flips chocolate chip pancakes at Katherine's request.

They all set the table together, and Caroline's reminded of Sunday breakfasts at home. She winds up between Damon and Tyler, and curses her luck. Damon doesn't say anything during breakfast, but he passes her the pancake plate when she asks so she figures he's in a good mood. Tyler apologizes over and over and she forgives him over and over even though she's still a little mad. She's never been good at holding grudges.

After breakfast Katherine tells her to take a shower and pack her bag. Apparently they're not staying another night. Caroline understands why, she really does, but that doesn't mean that she's not going to miss the running water and plumbing. She climbs down the stairs after her shower, pulling her towel dried hair back into a ponytail. She hasn't worn makeup since the outbreak and she finds herself missing the ritual. But then again, there are more important things to worry about. Damon's saying something to Katherine about packing up the SUV and Katherine volunteers her to help him.

Caroline grits her teeth but does what she's told. She's still not sure about Damon; granted, he had threatened Tyler for her, but that didn't outweigh the mean things he'd said to her.

Damon's quiet as they fill the back of the SUV with canned food, water bottles, extra clothes, medical supplies, weapons, and anything else they think they could use. They pick the garage clean before they go into the house to grab whatever Katherine has prepared for them. Stefan and Tyler are in charge of gas, and right now they're out siphoning gas from cars around the neighborhood. Damon's shoulders are tense, and she can tell he's worrying about his brother.

They're loading blankets and pillows into the SUV when Caroline says quietly, "Stefan will be fine."

Damon stops what he's doing to look at her. He stares at her for a moment before saying, "I know." his shoulders loosen as they get back to work and she takes a moment to admire him. He's certainly a good looking boy with his dark hair, lean body, and ocean eyes. But she has a boyfriend...and he has a girlfriend. _Hopefully, _she thinks. She really does hope Elena's still alive, for his and Katherine's sake.

—

Katherine lays a map out on the kitchen table, and they all lean over it, their heads brushing. Damon's beside Caroline again, and she doesn't like thinking about how good his after shave smells. _Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt,_ she mentally chants, pushing the dark haired boy out of her head.

Katherine circles a small town in Virginia, "This is Mystic Falls. It's in Virginia, which is a long fucking way away. My sister is there somewhere, and we're going to find her, along with whoever we find along the way." she looks up at them then. "There's a good chance we all won't make it, so if we're gonna do this, we've got to have each other's backs." as she says this, all four of their heads swing in Damon's direction.

"What?" Damon asks. "I'm not going to let you guys die just because I hate you. Jesus." he mutters.

Katherine looks back down at the map, marking places they'll have to stop. She picks small towns, saying something about big cities being dangerous, and Caroline can't help but agree.

"So, it's settled then." Damon says as Katherine folds up the map, "We leave at nightfall."

—

Night comes faster than any of them wanted it to. They pile into the SUV and she sits in the second row beside Tyler. He smiles at her and places a comforting hand over hers. That's when she realizes she's shaking. She's more afraid than she's let on. She grabs his hand, holding it tightly as Damon presses a button and the garage door lifts in front of them. Katherine is driving, and Damon's in the passenger seat while Stefan is in the very back.

"Ready?" Katherine asks, and her voice cracks.

"As we'll ever be." Stefan mutters, and he sounds a little afraid. She takes comfort in that.

The street looks empty, but by now she knows that an empty street can be misleading. Katherine flicks their brights off, and they coast out of the driveway and onto the street. The street lights are still working, and she remembers a time when she had hated the street lights. Now, she doesn't ever want them to turn off. Caroline is squeezing Tyler's hand still, and she notices that he's squeezing back, his eyes watching out of the left window. He rolls the window down and she does the same, their eyes searching for any sign of movement in the shadows.

Katherine keeps the SUV straight, and doesn't go over twenty. The streets are zombie free, and once they get out of the suburbs, they all exhale in relief.

The night drifts on, and they don't run into any trouble. Caroline's eyes drift shut as they loom closer to the city limits, and she tries not to think of the family and friends she's leaving behind in this city as her head lolls on Tyler's shoulder, her hand is still clasped in his. Katherine and Damon are talking quietly in the front, and Stefan's already asleep, comedic snores coming from his spot in the back. She takes comfort in knowing that she's safe and surrounded by people tonight.

—

A harsh hand shakes Caroline awake. She opens her eyes to meet Damon's and he tells her she's on watch duty. She looks around and she gets out and climbs into the passenger seat and Katherine takes her spot. Damon jumps into the driver's seat, and they take off again. "How long have we been moving?" she asks as Katherine wiggles around, curling a blanket around herself and falling sleep as soon as her head hits Tyler's shoulder.

"Six hours." Damon murmurs, his fingers fiddling with the radio dial. Static is all they come across.

Caroline opens the map in her lap, and pegs them to be about an hour outside of Louisiana. "Where are we stopping next?" she asks.

"Mooringsport. Population: eight hundred and eleven." Damon says, his mouth settling into a grim line.

"Eight hundred and eleven people for us to kill." Caroline says huskily, her eyes on the scenery flying by.

"They aren't people anymore, Caroline."

Caroline turns to look at him then, "They were three weeks ago." she argues.

Damon looks at her like he can't think of anything to say.

—

The rest of her watch is silent.

**—**

**notes: **edited and re-uploaded.


	3. Chapter 3

**Cinderella Dressed in White**

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—

"I am _so_ not cleaning that up." Tyler says, flinching as Damon veers to the left and mows down a blue bathrobe clad senior citizen zombie, bunny slippers and all.

Caroline grimaces as the zombie's blood and the blood of its victims splashes over their once clean and pristine windshield. Damon flicks on the windshield wipers, grinning to himself. He turns to her, tilting his head and wiggling his eyebrows. "That was a juicy one, huh?"

"Oh my _god._" Caroline squeaks. Katherine snorts as Damon bursts into a spurt of laughter. Tyler's nose is permanently wrinkled while Stefan seems above it all, his eyes on a town map they'd picked up at a truck stop just outside of Mooringsport. They'd narrowly escaped a zombie trucker's clutches with that one, but thanks to her shotgun and Damon's impeccable ability to pick her up and slam her down in front of the zombie, aiming the gun for her at the same time, she'd managed to take off his head and get the map before any of his friends had shown up. Stefan is murmuring to himself, crossing things on the map off with a sharpie.

Stefan looks up, catching her eye in the sun visor mirror. He grimaces before speaking above the fray of rare laughter. "We should go to the church."

Damon looks up, slamming on his breaks. "The _church_?" he snorts, "What, have you found god, brother?"

Stefan looks pained, "_No, _smartass, but in times like these, many people seem to think that if they turn to god, they'll be saved. If we're looking for survivors, then we should go to the church." he explains, smoothly, seemingly pleased to see Katherine and Tyler agreeing with him.

"It's a good idea, Damon." Katherine says, her tone almost pleading.

Damon cuts his eyes sideways to Caroline, and she shrugs. She's never been particularly religious. Hell, she'd only gone to church when her daddy had forced her to on Easter Sunday's. But Stefan was right. If there were survivors, the Catholic church was the first place they would be.

Damon's knuckles turn white against the steering wheel. "We've already picked up one stray, Kat." he sneers, his eyes glued to Caroline. "But she's proved her worth with that gun of hers, but what about the others? They could get us all killed."

"But dude," Tyler starts, "it's like, our civil duty or something."

"Not a word out of you." Damon barks, and Caroline rolls her eyes.

"Damon, listen to them." Caroline says. She reaches out, putting a hand on his arm. His muscles are tightly coiled from stress. Absently, she rubs her hand down his arm. "It's a good idea, and we don't have to take them all the way to Mystic Falls with us. But someone has to help them," to prove her point, she looks around at the empty street, "and there's no one around but us. So, _please,_ drive us to the church." she finishes in a whisper, her somber face morphing into a look of pleading. Her hand is still on his arm.

Damon's eyes flicker to her hand, then to her face. He inhales sharply, facing forward. "Fine, we'll go to the church, but I won't be responsible for any deaths that are sure to happen." he starts the SUV again, pushing forward. Katherine, Stefan, and Tyler are busy formulating a plan of attack while Caroline keeps her eyes on Damon.

Damon looks at her once before he looks back at the road. "Stop looking at me like that." he snaps gruffly.

Caroline plays stupid. "Like what?"

"Like I'm a hero, or something." Damon mutters, clutching the steering wheel even tighter.

Caroline shakes her head, "I'm not. I'm looking at you like you're a good man, and you _are._ We could be saving lives by going to this church." she explains, her eyes boring into the side of his handsome face.

Damon looks at her again, and she catches the ghost of a smile on his face as he turns away.

—

The parking lot is a mess.

There are cars strewn across the lanes, doors gaping open, boxes of spoiled food and clothing spilling onto the blacktop. Caroline releases her seat belt, pressing herself against the window for a better look. "Jesus." she hears Katherine murmur. Damon pulls the SUV to a stop in front of the church's double doors and the car fills with silence. Night is fast approaching, and it's_ their_ hunting time. They'll be out tonight, and the means that they can't stay outside for long. The sun is dipping down now, and Caroline looks at Stefan, willing him to say something to Damon.

"We can't stay out here tonight. We're in the open." Stefan says, breaking the silence.

"We could stay inside the church." Caroline offers, picking up Stefan's slack, her eyes never wavering from the outside.

"Yeah," Katherine agrees, "we could go to the second floor and get a fire going." she slips in between the two front seats. "What do you think?" she asks Damon.

Like last time, Damon's eyes flicker to Caroline. She nods, giving her answer. "I think I'm outnumbered." he says, a trace of humor in his voice. Caroline smiles a little. "We'll have to clear the place first."

Soon, he's barking orders and opening his door. He tells Tyler to grab a few cans of ravioli and a pot. Stefan grabs the bedding while Damon gives her and Katherine the job of checking their weapons.

"I wish shotguns were automatic." Katherine murmurs to Caroline as they open the back hatch. She rolls out a mat, revealing their weapon stash. As per usual, she grabs her butcher knife, and Caroline goes for her shotgun. "You should name it." Katherine says, nodding to her shotgun as she straps a colt to her thigh.

"Why?" Caroline asks, laughing a little. Katherine hands her a knife, and she tucks it into her belt.

Katherine shrugs, "If it's gonna be your friend and your family, you've gotta give it a name." she holds up her butcher knife. "This is Jennifer Aniston. She's taken a few beatings, but she's strong, and she'll cut you into pieces."

Caroline is impressed. "You put a lot of thought into that." she says in approval. Katherine shrugs, smiling tightly. Caroline looks down at her shotgun, the butt resting on the ground, the barrel facing up. "I'll think about it." she finally agrees, and Katherine's face lights up.

"Come on," Katherine says, grabbing her free hand, "those assholes left us out here." she rolls her eyes and drags Caroline to the church's door.

—

"It's freaky in here." Katherine says, pulling a flashlight out of her boot. She flicks it on, shining the beam over the front room. There's a desk, a pair of bathrooms, and a pop machine. Caroline makes a beeline for the vending machine, only to groan in disappointment when she sees the broken glass and the empty racks.

"Picked clean?" Katherine asks, and she nods.

"Damn. I'd kill for a Sprite right now." Katherine mutters.

"Poor choice of words." Damon says from behind them. The girls jump, simultaneously turning around and glaring at him. He holds his hands up, "Sorry, just coming to see what was taking so long."

Caroline ignores that, "Found anyone?" she asks, and he shakes his head.

"No, but we found some hard liquor in the priest's office." Damon grins wickedly, "I bet he's going to hell." he says, snickering. Caroline rolls her eyes while Katherine giggles. "But seriously," he continues, "the office is on the second floor, and there's a fire place. We could stay there for the night. Tyler's even found a box of twinkies." he says gleefully, his eyes gleaming. Caroline thinks it's sort of endearing how excited he is. It's a new side of him. It helps her understand him better. He's still an asshole, yes, but she kind of gets the feeling that he's just protecting himself. Like, being an asshole is a defense mechanism switch that flips when someone gets too close. He's still a snarky bastard, but she likes him. He's certainly warmed up to her since she'd arrived. He'd asked her opinion twice today, even though he'd never voiced the question. He valued her, he said that she'd "proved her worth". Her heart warmed just thinking about it.

Caroline backpedals, shaking her head. _No, you can't have a crush on him. He has a girlfriend!_

_A dead girlfriend. _A part of her thinks.

_We don't know that for sure. _The rational side of her thinks.

A hand snakes around her elbow, and Caroline jumps, bumping into Damon. "You're falling behind, Dallas Cowboy." he says, his lips twitching as she stares up at him.

"_Dallas Cowboy?_" Caroline repeats, lifting a brow.

Damon shrugs, "You're a cheerleader, aren't you?" he asks, pulling her along with him down a hallway she hadn't noticed they were walking down. She can only see the beam of Katherine's flashlight ahead of them.

"Typical." Caroline snorts in disbelief, shaking her head.

—

The priest's office is warm and well lit. Stefan and Tyler already have a fire going, and Tyler's holding a steaming pot of ravioli over the flames, hungrily licking his lips. Katherine and Stefan are fighting over sleeping space, though Tyler, Damon, and Caroline know they'll end up sleeping pressed together anyway. That was one thing she'd picked up on in the SUV and the house. Katherine and Stefan were attached at the hip, though she was closer in age to Damon. She was always around the younger brother, and Caroline thought it was adorable.

Damon drops her elbow, striding forward and plucking the pot out of Tyler's hands. Caroline ignores the now arguing boys, her eyes on the priest's bookcase. She spies a few things she likes and she wanders over. The original _Little Mermaid_, the gruesome version, is resting on the shelf next to a copy of _The New Testament. _She can't fathom why a priest would have the horrible tale of a mermaid who had to kill herself to free herself, but she's not complaining. She picks the books up, flicking a few pages into it. It's brand new. She smiles, tucking the book under her arm. The priest's desk is a mess. Papers and pens are strewn everywhere. She picks through the papers and opens a few drawers. She comes across a locked drawer and rummages around the desk in search of a key. She finds it and opens the locked drawer, yanking it out in excitement. "Huh." she murmurs in surprise, pulling a small handgun out of the desk. She grins when she finds the box of bullets in the back of drawer.

"Hey!" Tyler says, "Where'd you get that?" the others turn to look at her, eyeing her new toy in suspicion.

"Finder's keeper's." Caroline says, smirking.

"What are we? Five?" Damon asks, rolling his eyes and motioning for Caroline to join the group. They're sitting in a circle in front of the fire, bowls of ravioli in front of them. Damon hands her a bowl and a fork, and she realizes how hungry she is. She plans on savoring the food, not knowing when she's going to enjoy warm food again. She sets her book down before picking up her fork, and Damon grabs it, examining it. He lifts an eyebrow, holding up the book and giving her a questioning look. She snatches it back from him.

"Leave it alone." Caroline murmurs, her eyes downcast.

"What's with you? You've got that DVD you'll never be able to watch again, and you've got that stupid stuffed lion. What's the deal?" Damon asks harshly.

"I _said_ leave it alone." Caroline snaps, hugging her backpack closer to her. She doesn't want him to think she's a freak, but then again, she doesn't want to be made fun of for the only thing that keeps her going.

"Caroline." Damon says, and it's the soft voice and the understanding his eyes are radiating that do her in.

"Before everything went to hell, my family and I-we, we had this tradition. My boyfriend and my best friend were even in on it. We'd all sit down at least once a month and watch Disney movies all day. From_Pocahontas_ to _Treasure Planet_. And all I can remember from those times is being so, so, so happy. Now that happiness is so hard to come by, all I want is a little piece of those Disney days with me." Caroline whispers, her voice cracking as she finishes.

Damon stares at her, and she tilts her head lower, a stream of tears spilling down her face in sync. A finger lifts her chin. The same finger turns her face towards him. "Don't _ever_ be ashamed of that, Caroline." he says softly, like he gets it, like he understands. Maybe he does. "I want to show you something." he says suddenly, jumping up and pulling her with him. She looks back to see that the others are busy: Stefan and Katherine are whispering to each other, and Tyler is munching through the rest of the ravioli. Damon will kill him for it later, but right now Damon's dragging her into the hallway, his backpack in hand.

Damon shuts the door before turning to her, "You can't tell anyone what I'm about to show you. I have a reputation to uphold." as he says this he opens his backpack, pulling out a brown paper bag. He hands the bag to her, and she hesitantly opens it. It's filled with baseball cards. She looks up, blinking in confusion.

Damon rubs the back of his neck in embarrassment. "My dad was a baseball kind of guy. He went to the games, watched them on TV, placed bets, collected the cards. He was a—he was a real fan, you know? He died a few years back, and I've been collecting these," he nods to the bag, "ever since. I figured that just because the world had ended...it didn't mean there weren't any more baseball cards for me collect." he shrugs again, his alabaster cheeks turning a light pink. "It's just that—whenever I look at these cards, even if it's just a glance, it's like my dad's here with me."

Caroline stares down at the cards. She hadn't been expecting this. She looks up, and sees that Damon's waiting for her to say something. She looks back down, plucking a random card out of the bag. "So, who's this?" she asks, and his answering smile is enough.

**—**

**notes: **edited and re-uploaded.


	4. Chapter 4

**Cinderella Dressed in White**

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—

The church is a bust. There's nothing there but blood stains, bibles, and broken crosses. The pulpit, once a holy place, is covered in coagulated blood and brain matter. The priest who's office they are staying in had lost his faith, and against all of his and his god's moral code, he had blown his brains out. "Better suicide than zombie-fied," Katherine says, almost sadly, as she covers the mangled body of the elderly priest with an extra blanket. Katherine stares down at the blanket covered man for a moment before she shakes herself harshly, swiping a hand over her wet eyes quickly before turning back to everyone. "We should get moving. Staying in one place for too long is taboo." Damon, Stefan, and Tyler quickly agree, but Caroline still has her eyes on the dead man.

"Should we say something?" Caroline asks suddenly, looking up at her friends.

Stefan lifts an eyebrow, "What? Like a prayer?"

Katherine steps forward, "He's dead, Care. There's nothing we can do to change that."

"I know, but it just feels wrong to...to just leave him like this. He...he gave people hope, you know? Shouldn't we honor that?" Caroline can't really explain it, but leaving the priest behind without a word feels_wrong. _Not just morally, but she knows that if she left without a backward glance, she would regret it for the rest of her life. She's not a religious person by any means, but the priest, she didn't even know his name, had been a good man. He hadn't deserved this death, this forced suicide. He had deserved a long life with his wife, children, and grandchildren. He deserved to serve his god until the day he died.

Katherine, however, has other ideas. She takes one more look at the priest and stalks out of the room, calling for Stefan over her shoulder. Stefan squeezes Caroline's shoulder as he passes her, and Tyler left not a moment after. Was she the only one capable of compassion anymore? With a huff, she goes back to the man's office, grabs his photos, a bible, and a ring from his desk drawer. Once she's back at the body, she sinks to her knees beside it. She sees Damon hovering behind her, a perplexed look on his face. She ignores him, lifting the blanket and sliding the pictures into the priest's coat pocket. She slips the ring onto his finger, slides the bible between his hands and folds them over his chest. Slowly, she lowers the blanket back over him.

Caroline leans back on her haunches, thinking of something she could say. She laughs to herself, "I don't even know your name." she says sadly, "But you were a good man. You helped people, and you made them happy. You gave them something to believe in and I'm sorry you had to go like this. I hope you made it to heaven, and I hope you're with your wife and kids. I hope you're happy. I'm not really religious, but I think there's a heaven. I mean, there's gotta be something after this, right?" she takes a shaky breath, and she can't go on. There's a dam inside of her, and it's cracking. She's been able to hold it back, but she knows she's close to being reduced to a crying mess. And worse, Damon's there to see it. She sucks in a shuddering breath.

Damon's hand closes over her shoulder, "It feels wrong to not say a prayer." he says quietly, thoughtfully. "There's one my mom used to make me say every night before bed when I was a kid." he lowers himself down beside Caroline, and to her surprise, he takes her hand. "_Now I lay me down to sleep /_ _I pray the Lord my soul to keep / __If I shall die before I wake /_ _I pray the Lord my soul to take._" he falls silent, and Caroline lowers her head, wisps of stray hair falling into her face.

A moment later, Damon gently pulls her to her feet. "There's nothing else we can do, Caroline."

Caroline nods, "I know." she brushes the hair back from her face. "The prayer, that was nice." she says as they walk through the halls towards the parking lot.

Damon shrugs, "It's...ingrained into my head. It's nothing special, but every man of god should have a prayer said for him, right?"

—

When they reach the parking lot, Katherine has the SUV loaded and ready to go. The brunette leans against the side of the SUV, one knee bent, combat boot resting against the cool metal. She's got a rag, and she's running it over the edge of her butcher knife. A fresh zombie is at her feet, it's head nearly taken off. Caroline turns her eyes away from it, instead looking towards Katherine, "They know we're here?" she asks.

Katherine nods, her gaze over Caroline's shoulder. "Yeah, they saw us loading the SUV. Just a few though."

Damon comes to stand beside Caroline, "First a few, then a hundred." he says solemnly. Caroline peaks at him out of the corner of her eye. He seems...quiet today.

Katherine smiles grimly, "We were just waiting on you." she tosses Damon the keys, "We've got enough gas for another two hundred miles." Katherine swings the door of the SUV open and motions for Caroline to jump in. They sink into the backseat together, taking up their posts at each window. Damon climbs into the front seat, and half an hour later, they've left Mooringsport and the nameless priest behind. Caroline watches the scenery fly by: the trees, the grass, the gravel, the dirt, the undead. She pretends they don't exist as they whip by. If she pretends they don't exist, she can't see them in the landscape. It makes her feel a little better.

"Holy shit." Tyler breathes from the seat in front of them, and suddenly, they screech to a halt. Katherine snaps out of her nap, and Caroline tears her eyes from the window. They're on a scenic highway, facing a hundred car pileup. There's broken down cars as far as the eye can see, but no undead.

"How the fuck are we going to get to Virginia? This is the only highway..." the slamming of Damon's door cuts Tyler off. Caroline presses against the window, watching Damon. He opens the back hatch, pulling out the rifle he'd used the first day they'd met, a little under a week ago, and climbs on top of the SUV. Peeking through the tinted moon roof, she sees him lift the scope to his eyes. He turns in ever direction, and watches for a few minutes before he jumps down and climbs back into the SUV.

"The dead have moved on from this area, and there's a police alcove a hundred yards down. We can push some of these cars out of the way and get down there, then we'll jump to the other side of the highway."

"Is that legal?" Caroline interjects before she remembers. She blushes as Katherine and Tyler burst out laughing. "Well, _sorry_ if I have some level of moral code left!" she cries, arms crossing over her chest, face slipping into a pout. Damon shakes his head, but he's smiling too. Caroline ignores their laughing, and goes on, "We should probably scavenge the cars on the road. We still need penicillin and all that good stuff."

Damon nods approvingly, "You and Katherine get on that. Stefan and I will push the cars out of the way. Tyler, you're the lookout." he hands Tyler his rifle, and says, very solemnly, "Our lives are in your hands. Don't be stupid and get us killed."

"Yes, sir!" Tyler salutes, and Caroline cracks a smile.

Damon and Stefan stay ahead of Katherine and Caroline, Stefan with a Colt, Damon with Caroline's shotgun. They advance forward, checking corners and in between cars. "The hundred yards are clear." Stefan calls back after a few minutes. "Make it quick, ladies."

"Men." Katherine gripes, swinging her satchel up onto her shoulder and calling the left side of the highway.

Caroline veers right, clutching her own satchel. The first car she comes to is a VW bug, bright green, and it looks like it belongs to a teenager. The seats are littered with Mcdonald's wrappers and there's a pink cellphone on the dash. Caroline checks the backseat, climbs in, and shuts the door behind her. She rummages through the car, coming up with a _Twilight _book, pain pills, a flashlight, and a deck of cards. She sticks everything but the terrible book into her satchel and moves on. Four cars later, her satchel is only half full. She keeps going, only stopping to meet with Katherine in the middle. Half an hour later, she's found a couple of water bottles, canned goods, blankets, and a _Beauty and the Beast _coloring book, complete with colored pencils and a pencil sharpener. With a gleeful smile, she slips the coloring book into her bag. She ignores the drops of blood on the cover.

As Caroline closes the door of the car she'd been in, a hand closes on her shoulder. She squeals, and then a hand clamps down on her mouth. "Get down," Tyler hisses into her ear before he's weaving through the cars towards Katherine. Katherine falls to her knees and rolls under the car across from Caroline, then Tyler's running down the road towards Damon and Stefan. Caroline rolls under the car she's standing next to, and curls up. She thinks she's royally screwed. Damon has her gun, and all she's got is the knife Katherine had given her the night before. She rolls onto her side, facing Katherine. Katherine holds a finger to her lips, her eyes wide and panicked. There's a gurgling sound, and now Caroline knows why Tyler sounded so scared. There's a _herd _of zombies headed straight for them. They're walking together, groaning and bumping into each other. Caroline clamps a hand over her mouth to stop herself from gagging. The smell is fucking disgusting. She peeks up ahead, and sees Tyler lying on top of an Escalade, rifle in his hands. He's peering through the scope, and she shakes her head at him. If he shoots, the zombies will hear. Tyler catches her eye, and nods. She breathes a soft sigh of relief. She hopes Damon and Stefan are okay.

Feet drag against the blacktop outside of the car Caroline's under, and tears prick at her eyes. This is it. After three weeks of survival, this is the end for her. Katherine has her eyes closed, and she's murmuring something to herself. Caroline wishes Damon was with her, under the car. She feels safe when he's around and she doesn't know why. She's scared. Terrified. Then, it gets much worse. The brunt of the herd is gone, leaving behind a few stragglers. A child with her insides trailing behind her as she limps, hair matted, eyes unseeing, dirty teddy bear in hand. A soldier still in his uniform, the flesh of the left side of his face missing. A tubby truck driver with a "drink beer" t-shirt on. Ordinary people. They pass the cars her and Katherine are hiding under.

Caroline breathes a sigh of relief, closing her eyes. The worst is over for them. Now they have to wait for Tyler to come and get them. Only Katherine doesn't wait. She rolls out from under her car, breathing heavily and shuddering. A zombie crawls after her, growling and spluttering. Caroline doesn't think. She only acts. In one fluid movement, she rolls out from under her car, lifts her knife from her thigh strap, lunges over Katherine and slices the knife clean through the zombies gaping mouth. She feels the blade hit the back of its throat. She rips the knife out, and watches as the zombie falls to its knees and keels over. She made no noise, but it doesn't stop the three other zombies from turning and limping back in their direction. Katherine curses, jumping up. She gives Caroline a "thank you" nod, then she's back in action. In one swift hit, she has the truck driver on the ground, head completely severed from his body. Then, she advances on the soldier.

Caroline, in an attempt to show off, lifts her knife, aims, and throws. It nails the soldier between his eyes, and falls to the ground at Katherine's feet. Katherine kicks him out of the way, salutes, and takes down the child with minimal difficulty. Then, the boys appear out of nowhere, guns at the ready. "Is everything okay?" Tyler asks.

Katherine and Caroline share a look, grinning. "Everything's peachy keen. Now, let's get out of here. I have zombie brains in my hair and it's grossing me the fuck out." Katherine says, sashaying back to the SUV.

—

"Damn it." Damon's sharp hiss pulls Caroline from her sleep. They're stopped in the middle of a street, Damon has his hands on the wheel, squeezing so hard his knuckles are white. She looks back, and everyone else is asleep.

"What is it?" Caroline asks.

"We're out of gas." Damon mutters, slamming his hands down on the wheel in frustration.

"Don't we have a gas can?"

"Empty."

"Fuck."

"Yeah."

The silence stretches, and Caroline sighs. "Find the nearest auto shop. They always stock up on gas cans. I'll go in, see if I can find anything, then I'll get the hell out of there before any nasty, hateful, zombie mechanics take a chunk out of me."

"You say that like it's easy." Damon says, glancing at her.

Caroline grins, "Easy peasy, baby." she quips, and Damon grins, pulling out the map.

"We've got enough gas to go another mile, which is convenient since the nearest auto repair shop is there. God, I hated Jiffy Lube. Terrible service." Caroline laughs, and Damon turns the SUV back on. They get to Jiffy Lube, and Damon hands her her shotgun. She clutches it to her tightly, glad to have it back. It feels weird not having it. Before she gets out, Damon catches her arm, "If you're not out in ten minutes, I'm coming in after you."

Caroline rolls her eyes, but nods anyway.

—

It's dark.

Caroline blinks against the blackness. She stands in the darkness of the front office for a moment, completely silent, listening intently. It sounds clear, but you can never be too sure. She crouches down, reaching into her boot and pulling out a flashlight. She flicks it on, shines it around the room, and relaxes. She can't detect any traces of blood. The place just looks like someone had ransacked it; probably in the beginning when nobody knew what was going on. Looters from the pirate ages seemed to emerge from the woodwork when the shit had hit the fan. WalMart had practically gone bankrupt with all of the theft, and that was saying something.

Caroline searches through the front desk, coming up with some Advil and a bag of Lays. She swings the light around, walking towards the shop doors. She shuts the light off, leaning against the door and looking out the windows. It seems clear. She pushes the doors open, lifting her shotgun up just in case. Turning the flashlight back on, she sticks it in her mouth, scaling the wall as she illuminates every part of the shop. It's empty. Her flashlight falls on a few gas cans in the corner, and she practiaclly skips towards them, bending down to pick them up. As she bends down, something in the opposite corner of the shop falls off a shelf.

Caroline stiffens, standing upright, swinging around and aiming her shotgun. A hand hits her from her blind spot, and she crashes to the floor. Her gun is kicked away, and her flashlight falls to the ground. It illuminates the face of a man. Not a zombie. Just a man. He looks disgusting, chipped teeth, scraggly beard, greasy hair. Briefly, she wonders what she looks like to him.

"Well, what do we have here?" he asks, stepping closer to her. She opens her mouth to tell him to fuck off, but another voice chimes in, then another.

"A pretty little girl, that's what we've got." the voices say simultaneously.

Two men appear out of the shadows, grinning at her. She remembers that this is how a lot of _Law and Order: SVU_ episodes start. "My boyfriend is going to be here any minute." Caroline says, grasping at straws. Damon's face, not Matt's, flashes through her head.

The men all grin again. "Sweetheart, you've got nobody." the one who had hit her drawls. Her grabs her arms, hauling her to her feet. Without a thought, she strikes out, clocking him the way her daddy taught her.

"You bitch." he spits, lifting his hand to hit back. Caroline flinches, ducking her head. He slams her back against the wall, and his friends cheer him on as he rips her jacket off, the buttons flying off in every direction. She tries to scream, but his hand is covering her mouth. She kicks out, and he pinches her stomach. Tears stream from the corners of her eyes. He rears back, unzipping his jeans.

"Damon!" Caroline screams before he can cover her mouth again. He growls, reaching down to rip her jeans down her legs.

Then, he stops moving. Caroline looks down, and sees the long blade piercing his chest. He falls away from her, keeling over. She gasps, stumbling forward into Damon's open arms. She presses her face into his chest, and his arms wind around her. She tries to stop shaking, but it's no use. She can hear Damon's "shh's", Katherine's cursing, and the squeals of the other two men, but mostly, she's thinking about what could have happened if Damon hadn't have been there. The man in question rocks her back and forth, rubbing her back.

"I've got you. You're safe now." Damon whispers into her hair. So lightly that later she thinks she might have imagined it, he kisses her hair.

**—**

**notes: **edited and re-uploaded.


	5. Chapter 5

**Cinderella Dressed in White**

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—

Caroline doesn't remember much from the night before. She remembers that Damon had wrapped his leather jacket around her. She remembers that it had smelled like aftershave and whiskey. She remembers that he held her for a few more minutes before he'd lifted her into his arms. She remembers that she passed out as he carried her to the SUV. She remembers hearing Damon's voice go soft and velvety as he'd cooed to her, "Sleep, Caroline." She remembers wrapping her arms around his neck and refusing to let go. She remembers him saying, "New rule: no one goes anywhere alone." When she wakes up from the first nightmare she's curled against Stefan. He's snoring softly, and feeling completely content, completely safe, she falls back asleep. The next time she wakes up, she's wrapped in a different pair of arms. She looks up and meets Damon's sleeping face. He looks different when he sleeps, more open, more peaceful. She presses her nose into his chest and falls back asleep.

When Caroline wakes up again, she's wrapped in Damon's jacket and a blanket, and she's on a bed. With a start, she sits up, hands flying for her gun. She can't find it. A hand catches her's, and she squeaks.

"It's just me." Katherine says.

Caroline breathes a sigh of relief, and relaxes. "We figured you needed a break, so we broke into some sleazy motel and booked a room." Katherine continues, and even in the dark, Caroline can see the whites of her teeth as she smiles widely. "You won't believe this but the alcohol bar hasn't even been touched! We're gonna get _soo _trashed tonight." she looks excited. Giddy, even.

"That sounds fun." Caroline lies. She's never been much of a drinker, but she's not going to rain on Katherine's parade. Katherine just keeps grinning. Caroline settles back onto the bed, and _god,_ she just wants to lie there forever. She'd never realized how much she'd missed sleeping in a bed. Last night comes flooding back to her as her head hits the pillow, and she winces. It had never occurred to her that a human, a man and not a zombie, could hurt another. Especially not now. Not when the human population wasn't at the top of the food chain. There was a girl she knew back home who had gotten drugged and gang raped at a party once, and she'd never been the same. She jumped at little things, had several therapists, and when Caroline looked at her she felt such overwhelming pity and sadness that it made her want to cry. That could have been her last night. She's struck again with just how lucky she was. "Thank you." she says suddenly.

Katherine quirks an eyebrow.

"For last night, I mean." Caroline elaborates.

Katherine's smile fades. "It was nothing." she says softly. "I heard you screaming and Damon shot out of the SUV like a bat out of hell to get to you. And when he saw those guys pressing you up against the wall and trying to get your jeans off, I think-I think he just saw red. Before I could even blink he had my hunting knife in his hands and the next thing I knew, the guy was on the ground, dead. Then you were crying and snotting all over his t-shirt and-and," she pauses, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, "and I had to kill two people. Not zombies." her eyes open as she repeats, "_People._"

Caroline reaches out, hugging the slim brunette. "I'm really sorry." she says quietly, "We should have all gone together."

Katherine sniffs, brushing the back of her hand over her eyes, "Yeah, well, now we know that it's not just zombies we have to watch out for."

—

They're all together in the honeymoon "suite".

It has a cliche heart shaped bed, a disco ball, and vials and vials of liquor shots. Katherine and Tyler are in heaven, and by the time the sun is setting, they're swaying in a corner, singing some sort of campfire song and crying about something or other. Caroline sits in a chair by the window, blinds slightly pulled open, shotgun in her lap. Katherine had handed her a little bottle of something that tasted like fire and cinnamon, and had demanded that she drink it. She weighs it in her hands absently, but decides to put it away for a later date. She's on watch. She shouldn't hinder herself. She's struck with how responsible the zombie apocalypse has made her. It makes her want to laugh. Before, all she'd cared about was being prom queen, cheerleading, and Matt. Now she had four other lives besides her own to worry about. She didn't really mind, they were her friends. She loved them. She'd always had a lot of friends, but she never would have taken a bullet or a zombie bite for them like she would for Damon, Katherine, Tyler, or Stefan. They weren't friends, she decides, they were family.

Once again, Caroline remembers last night and how Damon's face, not Matt's, had flashed through her mind when she'd uttered the word "boyfriend." It's just like her to have a crush on the most unattainable boy in the group. Why couldn't she have a thing for Tyler? Damon was still very much in love with Elena, hell, they were travelling across America to get to her. _If she's even still alive, _she thinks. She shakes her head back and forth. _Of course _she's still alive. She has to be, for Katherine and for Damon, she has to be.

In the back of her mind, behind Damon and Elena and all of that, Matt resides. She misses him. She wishes he was here so he could sit in a chair beside her and tell her all of those stupid jokes he used to look up online just to cheer her up. The ones that involve fruit and silly little puns. Matt was good, _too_ good for what was happening now. And he didn't deserve Caroline having all of these confusing feelings about Damon. Damon was her _friend, _but Matt was her boyfriend. She loved him the most, no matter how safe Damon made her feel.

Caroline looks away from the window for a moment and watches her friends. Tyler and Katherine are still singing, Stefan is rolling his eyes in that uptight way of his, and Damon is laughing. Really laughing. He looks carefree and happy. As if he feels her gaze, he looks over at her and winks. She can't help it, her cheeks turn a light pink. She looks back out the window. There are a few walkers roaming the parking lot, their mouths agape. She spies a nurse, a hooker, and the clerk of the hotel. She leans down, picking up Damon's rifle and setting down her shotgun. She lifts the rifle into her lap and flips up the scope. Spying the clerk's name-tag, she chuckles to herself. The clerk's name is Sam, and he looked her age, maybe a little older. He wasn't as beat up as the other zombies, and he was sort of...cute. She felt bad. With an inaudible sigh, she opens the window a crack and fits Damon's silencer onto his rifle, and aims. Not warning the others, she takes her shot, and Sam falls to the ground. "Sorry, Sammy." she mutters. The nurse and the badly dressed hooker follow Sam the sleazy hotel clerk. She lowers the rifle. Killing comes easy now. Before, she'd kept track of how many she killed, and now, she couldn't even remember if the number was lower than one hundred. Without another thought, she takes the burning vial of cinnamon out of her jacket pocket and opens it, downing it. She's met with a cool buzz and warmth swelling through her body almost immediately.

Caroline pops the rifle open, checking the lines once more before closing it and lifting it back up the rest on the windowsill. She leans back in her chair, fitting the rifle's nose to the crack in the window. The parking lot is empty, but the street's aren't. With five separate clicks, she takes down five more zombies.

"Whatcha doin'?" Tyler asks, sitting down on the floor beside her legs.

"My civil duty." Caroline replies, hitting an obese woman wearing jeggings right between the eyes.

"You're one helluva shot." Stefan says from behind her. Caroline turns her head a fraction, smiling.

"My momma was a sheriff, and my daddy was a hunter. Before he skipped out, he taught me anything and everything about guns. I can take 'em apart, clean 'em, and put 'em back together." without realizing it, she'd slipped into her southern twang. She'd tried to hide it so far, but sometimes it just slipped out. Katherine giggles, and she blushes. "My mom taught me gun control and safety. I just...I always just went along with whatever they were teaching me 'cause that's the only time I felt like they were doin' something for me. I never thought I'd have to-I never thought I'd have to use a gun for something other than buck hunting, though." she sets the rifle aside, and a cool silence stretches.

A hand closes over her knee, and Caroline looks down to see Tyler smiling at her, "I think your parents would be proud of you." he slurs, his drunken eyes twinkling at her. She allows herself a small smile, and puts her hand over his. She can't explain it, but Tyler makes her go all fuzzy inside. It could just be the alcohol, but when he smiles at her, she feels like smiling back. This is a unique turn of events, she notes. Maybe she just needs to get laid. She remembers that her and Matt had plans for spring break.

Caroline, though she didn't like to admit it, was a virgin. Matt had promised her this perfect candlelit night at the very end of spring break, and she knew he'd fumble it somehow because that was just who he was, but she didn't care. She loved him for his dorky, klutzy quirks. But spring break was the week it all went to hell. Exactly four and half weeks ago. She had been so ready, so prepared for that night, but now it wasn't ever going to happen. She knew she'd probably never see Matt again, and it made her sad to think that she'd never be able to have that perfect night with him. If it was with anyone else, it wouldn't be the same. Tyler squeezes her hand as if he can sense her distress, and she looks at him, meeting his warm brown eyes. _Well, hell, _it's just her luck that all of the men currently stationed in her vicinity are incredibly good looking. _Why couldn't I get stuck with some ugly guy?_

Later, they all slip into bed, and Caroline somehow draws the short stick and she's stuck between Damon and Tyler on the floor while Stefan and Katherine get the bed. Just before she falls asleep, she swears Tyler's hand settles into the dip of her waist, and she swears Damon scoots a little closer to her, their noses almost touching.

_Weird as hell._

—

Caroline wakes up, and she's in the auto shop. She's bending down to pick up the gas cans, and there's a noise from the other end of the shop. This feels strangely familiar. She whirls around, and she gets hit.

From.

Her.

Blind spot.

She knows what's happening now, and any minute Damon will come through the door. Except now her jacket's torn, and Damon's not there. Now her jeans are being ripped off of her legs, and Damon's not there.

Damon doesn't come. And she can't move, and he whispers in her ear, "Pretty little girls shouldn't go out alone." and then...she lets her mind drift. She knows this is a dream, but it doesn't feel any less real. It hurts _so, so, so_ bad.

She screams, and screams, and screams.

—

Hands are shaking her shoulder, and Caroline snaps awake. Wet, salty tear tracks line her cheeks, and sweat pools around her hairline. Damon stares down at her, his knees on either side of her hips, hands rubbing her shoulders. "Where were you?" she whispers.

Damon blinks in confusion, "What?"

"Where—where were—he said I shouldn't go out alone." Caroline can't think.

Her legs hurt.

Her thighs hurt.

Her hips hurt.

The place that she was saving for Matt hurts.

"It wasn't real." Damon promises, "It wasn't _real._"

Dark circles swirl in front of her eyes, and her thoughts are everywhere. All she knows is Damon wasn't there and even if he's never outright said it, he's supposed to _protect her. _And. He. Wasn't. There. "Where were you?" she repeats. Her voice fades in and out. Her eyes shut before she can stop them.

"I'm here now." is all he says, and Damon kneels back onto his haunches, carrying her with him. Caroline's cradled against his chest, and before she knows it, her eyes are filled to the brim and she can't see a thing. She presses her nose into his shirt, letting out several shaky, shoulder wrenching sobs. "It was just a dream." he says, and she nods because she knows it was, but just because it was dream doesn't mean she's any less scared. She's scared of everything. Of dying. Of crying. Of walkers. Of never seeing Matt again. Of _every-fucking-thing._

Damon lays her back down sometime later, pulling a blanket over here and tucking her in. She hiccups, and without a word he hands her a water bottle. The water is lukewarm but she drinks it down anyway and rolls onto her side, curling into a ball. She shuts her eyes tightly. Her stomach quakes, and she feels sick. Her stomach lurches suddenly and she can feel _his _hands ripping away her jacket and jeans and her underwear and she can feel _everything. _She jumps up, racing to the door, unlatching it in about two seconds, and retches her sad dinner of canned ravioli onto the pavement. Thankfully, there are no walkers. Hands pull her hair away from her face and tie it back. Damon rubs her shoulders, her neck, and strokes a finger down her spine gently. "Shh." he murmurs as she sobs again, warm tears sliding down her cheeks. She doesn't know what's wrong with her, only that she's completely terrified.

A voice, Stefan's, comes from inside the room, "Damon, is she okay?"

"Go back to sleep, Stef." Damon says, not moving his hands from her shoulders. She hears Stefan moving around, then it's silent again. "I know you're shaken up, Caroline, and I know last night freaked you the fuck out, but you can't let it get to you. I killed him, I ran him through with a hunting knife and he's not going to scare you or anyone else again. And I'm not going to let another man lay a hand on you." Damon murmurs.

Caroline wipes her mouth, and Damon hands her a water bottle. She rinses out her mouth, feeling a little bad about the waste of water. Wordlessly, she goes back into the room. He catches her shoulder before she passes the doorway, "You're going to have nightmares for awhile, Caroline, and for that I'm sorry. But you have to know," he pauses, "I mean, I _know_ I was an ass to you in the beginning, but I trust you, and I hope you trust me. You don't have to wake up from another nightmare alone." he rubs the back of his neck, and she swears he's blushing.

Caroline glances down at her feet. She scuffs her boots on the ground, and without a word, she stands on her tiptoes and kisses his cheek. His skin warms under her lips, and she pulls away, entering the room before she can kick herself for being so stupid. She lays back down, and a few moments later, she hears the door click shut and the locks latch. Another moment later, Damon lowers himself to lay beside her. He faces away from her, and she's mortified. His back is stiff.

Caroline rolls onto her back and stares at the ceiling. Suddenly, Damon rolls over, facing her once more. She tilts her head, her eyes meeting his. He reaches out, taps her nose, then closes his eyes. She watches him for a bit until she's sure he's asleep, then she closes her own eyes.

—

She doesn't sleep that night.

**—**

**notes: **edited and re-uploaded.


	6. Chapter 6

**Cinderella Dressed in White**

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—

There's a sword hanging over all of their heads.

They all know there is only so much time for them left, and they can only hope that they can make it to Mystic Falls before one of them kicks the bucket, or rather, rises from the dead. But then again, the likely hood of any of them becoming zombies is very low. Caroline bets that her friends would rather shoot themselves than become a flesh addict.

There's that sword again.

Caroline feels its weight as she swings her shotgun in an arc and bashes an obese, greasy haired clerk's head in. His name tag was still in tact, and she says a silent prayer for "Jim Bob". Damon glances down at the body, lip curling in disgust, "Jim Bob really let himself go." he quips, poking the once-zombie with the tip of his boot.

Caroline snorts before turning around, glancing down the aisles of the mini-mart they're raiding. _So crass, _she thinks, sneaking a glance at Damon. He's tense, one hand on the pistol at his waist. He's hardly left her side since her bout of nightmares two days ago. They've gone raiding together, eaten together, slept beside each other, and he's even gone so far as to stand guard when she has to use the bathroom. It's more endearing than annoying, but she's adamant in whining that she can take care of herself. Not that she has so much to show in that regard besides a few zombie kills. But whatever. What else is there to worry about in the new world order?

Caroline purses her lips, fluorescent lights cutting in and out over her head. She can feel Damon's eyes on her face. She turns to him, "That couldn't have been the only zombie in this place." she says, and shoves her shotgun into his hands.

"Wha—"

Caroline cuts him off with a loud whistle, fingers in her mouth. It falls silent, then, there's a gurgling noise, and a particularly nasty looking obese zombie with a mullet (she fucking hates the backwoods towns they've been forced to pass through) comes from around an aisle. One of his eyes is hanging out of his head, a thin grisly strand keeping it tethered to the socket. There's blood and gristle and what looks like vomit on the front lapel of his overalls. Damon lets out a low whistle as the zombie limps towards them, hands reaching out. She waits, hands on her hips, head tilted to the side. She decides she won't need her gun for this one. She'll save her bullets for the truly threatening zombies she's sure to find later. The zombie comes closer, foul stench hitting their noses. She gags, curses, and flings herself at the zombie. She remembers taking kickboxing classes because her mom was paranoid, but she never thought she'd have to use the lethal moves she'd learned. She supposes she should be grateful her mom was a crazy Sheriff. She turns her body, pointing her combat boot and arcing her foot in a sharp angle, knocking the zombies legs out from under him. Once he's on the ground, she wastes no time, stomping his face in with the heel of her boot. Blood flings in all directions, coating her shoes and the floor. She wipes a hand over her face when she's done, spitting on the ground beside the zombie.

Caroline turns to Damon, holding her hand out. He presses her gun into her hands, look of awe clear on his face, "Impressive." he says approvingly, and she shrugs. "You're just full of surprises." she hears him murmur as she turns around, jumping over the zombie and heading over to the canned goods section.

Idly, as Caroline tosses cans of chilli and packages of top ramen into her bag, she remembers a conversation she'd had with Katherine a few days ago. Damon's behind her, going through the other cans, his back brushing hers. "Katherine thinks I should name my shotgun." she says, making a face at a cream of mushroom soup before slipping it into her bag. She's always hated cream of mushroom, but this isn't the time to be picky.

"That's a novel concept." Damon says, looking over his shoulder at her.

Caroline shrugs, "I can't decide what to name him." she says, turning around and hefting her shotgun in her hand.

"It's a he?" Damon asks, lips quirking into an attractive smile. Caroline nods, smiling too.

"Well, why not? Every girl needs a man in her life to lean on." Caroline says.

Damon's lip quirk becomes a full blown grin, "Don't let Katherine hear you say that, she's all about girl power."

Caroline laughs, "Perhaps I don't share Katherine's ideologies."

"No," Damon muses, "you're much too unique for that." he looks away from her then, heading down the aisle away from her.

Caroline turns back to the canned foods, struggling to hide her blush at his somewhat backwards compliment. To be honest, she's not sure how to act around him. The night he'd held her as she cried and whispered that he'd never let anything happen to her floods back to her every time she looks at him, and she's unsure of where they're standing. Stefan and Tyler remain oblivious, while Katherine has slowly caught on to Caroline's growing feelings for her sister's boyfriend. It makes her uncomfortable to think that Katherine knows, and yet, she approves. It seems that even Katherine herself has given up on finding Elena. They'd even spoken about it the night before while the boys were asleep. Katherine believed her sister was dead, or rather, undead. And there was nothing anyone could say or do to convince her otherwise. She was simply going with the flow for Damon's sake. "He has to know if she's dead or alive. That's what's keeping him going." she had said, looking down at her Jennifer Aniston knife, perplexed look crossing her features before she was back to being cynical and snarky.

Caroline sighs, following Damon down the aisle. She imagines her feelings on the tile floor as she walks, crunching them beneath her boots, eliminating them. She won't stand in the way of Damon and Elena, and besides, Matt is still a prominent fixture in her life, though she knows he's dead. She can feel it. Sweet Matt wouldn't have lasted five days in the new world. She stops walking, tugging at the strings of the sweatshirt she's wearing. It's Matt's. She says a silent prayer before quickening her pace and catching up to Damon. He's in the medical section, tossing bandages, pain killers, and anything else he can find that's useful into his bag.

"I think this'll do." Damon says, looking at her, "This place is sketchy."

Caroline quickly agrees, and they walk back the way they'd came, side by side. Their hands brush together every so often, and Caroline's body grows rigid, though Damon seems to think nothing of it. _Stop it,_she hisses mentally, berating herself. _This can't keep happening. You'll lose your head. _They get back to the SUV, Damon tossing Caroline the keys before jumping into the passenger side. Katherine and Tyler eagerly paw at their bags, slapping each other a high five when they come across the chips Caroline had found. She rolls her eyes at them before pulling out of the quick mart's parking lot, starting the next leg of their journey.

—

"I'm _dying._" Katherine moans, shoving herself in between the two front seats. "We should find a river or a lake or something so I can wash my hair. I feel fucking disgusting."

"You look it, too." Damon quips, put out that she'd pulled him out of his sleep.

Without thinking, Caroline takes one hand off the wheel and smacks his arm, mouthing, "Be nice." Katherine laughs, and Damon pouts at her, crossing his arms over his chest.

Tyler pipes in from the very back seat, "Yeah, I could use a river bath, too." he smiles at Caroline in the mirror.

Stefan agrees, and Damon pulls out the map, searching for the closest body of water. It's about a mile away. They get there in two minutes. "It's imperative that you don't drink the water." Damon says as Caroline navigates the SUV to the side of the road and into a shroud of trees, hiding it from any prying eyes that should wander their way. "We don't know if any of the dead have wandered into it." he tucks the map into the glove box, "We also don't know if the disease that changes them can spread through the water."

Caroline turns the SUV off, turning around in her seat to look at the others. "Tyler and I will scout to see if there are any zombies limping around," she cuts her eyes to Damon, who looks a little green at the thought of her going off with Tyler, "and you three should check the road and the woods just in case. We'll meet back here in ten."

Before Caroline and Tyler leave, Damon catches her arm, pulling her aside. "I don't like this." he says, nodding at Tyler. "I should go with you. That twit doesn't know what he's doing with a gun." he glares at Tyler, who flinches, feeling his gaze. Tyler pulls a face and turns away from Damon's eyes.

"I'm afraid that the decision delegating who I spend my time with isn't yours to make." Caroline says, a little thrilled that he cares so much. "I'll be fine. Tyler won't get me killed."

"It's not him getting you killed I'm worried about." Damon says, letting go of her arm. "He _likes_ you." a uncomfortable and angry look flashing across his face before he's stoic again. "I don't want you getting into something you're not ready for, especially because of what happened a few days ago." he adds, lowering his voice, his eyes searching hers. For what, she doesn't know.

Caroline stills, looking down at the ground, "Nothing will happen, I promise." she says softly, pushing past him.

Damon catches her arm again, "I didn't mean to upset you." he says, looking lost for words.

Caroline pulls her arm from his grasp, stepping towards him. "It's okay. I just-I just don't want to talk about what almost happened to me. You were there to save me and that's all that matters." she walks away before she can say anything she'll regret. Damon stares after her, teeth catching his lower lip, hands grasping his hair. _Fuck, _he thinks to himself, feeling the jealousy roll through his veins as Tyler offers Caroline his arm, and she takes it, giggling.

—

Caroline jumps up onto a large rock overlooking the stream they'd found. It's about five feet deep, enough to get rid of the dirt they've accumulated since their last shower. The view is nice, the trees looking exceptionally green, the grass mixed with wildflowers. "Carnal beauties, the world needs more of them." she sighs to herself, lifting the binoculars she'd borrowed from Stefan up to her face. She looks in every direction, taking about five minutes to search the entire area. There's not a zombie in sight. "It's clear!" she calls to Tyler. He looks up from the water, giving her a thumbs up.

This place is safe, for now.

"So," Tyler begins as they're walking back to meet the others, "what's up with you and Damon?" he asks, shoving a tree branch out of her way before she smacks into it.

Caroline blinks, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, "Nothing." she says quickly, maybe too quickly because Tyler gives her a blank look. "Seriously, there's nothing going on. He's my friend. Why do you ask?"

Tyler shrugs, "I don't know. I mean, you guys are always together. And when you said that I was going to be the one scouting with you, he looked like someone had kicked his puppy down a flight of stairs and then spat on it." Tyler frowns before adding, "He hates me."

Caroline laughs, "Damon's just looking out for me. He likes to take care of people, I think. And no, you're not his favorite person."

Tyler grabs Caroline's elbow, stopping her, "I think it's more than that, Care. I think he likes you."

Caroline's heart thuds, and she blinks rapidly, willing it to slow down. Damon can't like _her_ because he loves _Elena_ and she wants Damon to be happy with Elena. "No." she says, shaking her head. "He's my friend, nothing more." she's not sure who she's trying to convince, Tyler or herself.

"Are you sure?" Tyler questions.

_Sadly. _"Yes." Caroline whispers, sounding more heartbroken than she means to. But Tyler doesn't pick up on it. He's too busy staring at her, an undecided look on his face. Suddenly, he grins, a glint in his eye.

"If you're sure then I don't feel bad about doing this." Tyler whispers, lowering his mouth to hers. Instantly, she feels the rush that comes from kissing, and it fills her brain and clouds her thoughts. She can hear herself screaming inside, _Matt! Damon! This is wrong! _But she can't stop. She really, really can't. Because Tyler is the one boy she can have. She can't have Damon, she can't have Matt. But Tyler?

Tyler's fair game.

So she drops her shotgun, wrapping her arms around his neck, finally kissing him back. He groans as she presses closer to him. "God." he hisses, pulling away to exhale, his mint gum breath fanning across her face. His eyes are cloudy, and a grin crosses his lips before she's pulling him back down again. They kiss for what feels like hours, and she knows that the ten minutes they'd been given to scout have already gone by, but she can't stop. Tyler is warm and strong and everything, everything, everything. There's a part of her that's still screaming for Damon, but she crushes it, shoving it away because it doesn't belong inside of her.

"Caroline, what are you-" a familiar (a heart achingly familiar) voice comes from behind them, and Caroline and Tyler immediately jump apart. Caroline whips around to face Damon, who's wearing a devastated look on his face. He stares at her, hurt burning in his eyes, mouth set into a frown.

"Damon, it's not what it—" Caroline tries to say, but yes, it is what it looks like.

"Save it, I don't care." Damon hisses, glaring at her, "I found them!" he shouts to Stefan and Katherine who are coming through the trees towards them.

"_Hey!_ Don't talk to her like that!" Tyler snaps from behind her.

"Shut the fuck up." Damon growls at him before turning and walking away, shoving past Stefan and Katherine.

Caroline stays where she is, eyes watering, watching his back disappear through the trees. Tyler grabs her hand, but she yanks it back, cursing her stupidity. She can't figure out why Damon's so angry, but she know he's hurt, and she knows it's her fault.

"Who died?" Stefan asks, seeing Caroline's half heartbroken, half devastated face.

She wants to laugh and cry at the same time.

**—**

**notes: **edited and re-uploaded.


	7. Chapter 7

**Cinderella Dressed in White**

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—

Caroline's always thought of herself as smart, but now she just feels incredibly stupid.

The stream her and Tyler had scouted out lays before her. The boys stand guard as Katherine yanks off her clothes, completely unashamed, and jumps into the water off of the rock Caroline had stood on a few moments before. She resurfaces, pushing her soaking wet hair out of her face, and says, "C'mon, Care. The water's great. I feel better already!" she goes back under, bubbles rising to the surface as she laughs underwater.

Caroline tries to smile, but the function won't come. She sneaks a glance at Damon as she tugs off her boots and socks. He's watching her, an unreadable expression on his face. When he sees her looking, his unreadable expression morphs into one of anger, and he looks away. She blinks, surprised at the sudden onslaught of tears that threaten to spill from the corners of her eyes. She doesn't understand why she feels this way. They're back at square one, Damon and her. Back to the glares and harsh words that she'd grown accustomed to in the first few days that she'd been with them. Gone is the snuggling close at night, and the jokes in the front seat. She misses those moments already. She busies herself with sliding down her jeans, suddenly not caring that Tyler's eyes zone in on her._ Let him look, _she thinks spitefully. Spiteful of who, she doesn't know. Damon, maybe.

Caroline kicks her jeans aside, then shakes off Matt's sweatshirt. Before she can stop herself, she pulls off her undergarments too. She can almost feel Tyler's eyes bug out of his head. She shakes it off, and jumps into the water. It's cold, the sudden impact of the water against her skin. But she likes it. She stays under, letting a steady stream of bubbles escape her nose. She runs her fingers through her tangled hair, yanking at the strands. She can almost feel the grease and the grime and the blood melting away as she stays under until she absolutely needs to breathe. She comes up for air in time to see Tyler and Stefan splashing each other, having given up on guarding the already clear area. Katherine's laughing at the pair, splashing water on them both. Her eyes automatically search for Damon, and she sees his bare back as he disappears further down the stream, around the rock her and Katherine had jumped off of. She almost goes after him, but she's too afraid to.

Caroline pretends the water is everything she's been through as she scrubs herself with the soap and shampoo Katherine had managed to pull together. She feels ten times better as it washes away, not to mention that it's nice to feel a little cleaner. She gets out of the water when no one's looking, and slips on Matt's sweatshirt. It falls half way to her knees, covering everything that would make Tyler blush. She lays on the rock, curling into a ball, facing away from her friends. She peaks over the edge, looking for Damon. His wet hair clings to his face as he slips his t-shirt on over his head. He straps his belt on, and looks up just as she ducks back down. She bites her lip, wishing she wasn't attached to him, wishing she disliked him as much as she did the first day. But no dice, because as stated many times before, this is her life, and she has no luck.

The other's stay in the water awhile longer, and Caroline wishes she could be having as much fun as them. Damon's already gone back to the SUV and Tyler keeps tossing her looks that she keeps ignoring, and she wants to kick herself for kissing him and screwing up everything. But what exactly did she screw up? For the life of her, she can't figure out why Damon is so angry. Tyler's nothing like the men who'd cornered her in the auto shop. She knows it's not just his protective feelings for her that are making him so angry. He'd looked almost..._defeated_ when he'd came across her and Tyler kissing. She feels a little sick to her stomach as she remembers the look on his face.

Caroline heaves out a sigh as she wiggles into her clothes. She ignores Tyler's eyes and begins the trek through the trees back to the SUV. She has to talk to him, to at least figure out why he's so angry. Finding out the reason will be one step closer to fixing the problem. The SUV is a beacon, and she can see Damon leaning against the side of it, staring up at the sky. "Hey," she starts, slowly approaching, setting her shotgun on the ground. She wants to laugh because the first thing that pops into her head is that she hasn't named the damn thing yet.

Damon sighs heavily before lowering his gaze towards her. The look he gives her has her shivering. "What do _you_ want?" he asks harshly, his voice low and gravelly.

"I want to know why you're so angry." Caroline says, putting her hands on her hips.

"Don't worry about it," Damon snaps, his voice growing steely.

"Well, I _am _worrying about it." Caroline bites back, growing steadily angrier. "You don't get to shut me out like that."

"I can do whatever I want." Damon says, a grim smirk taking over his face, "You're nothing to me. You're not my girlfriend. You're _not_ Elena."

That stops Caroline in her tracks. She stares up at him, swallowing the lump in her throat. "I'm _nothing?_" she repeats.

Damon's glare grows darker. "Nothing." he says, lifting his chin. The other's are coming back now, laughing and crashing through the trees. They stop in their tracks and the laughter dies as they see Damon and Caroline at each other's throats. "We should have left you behind. We should have let those men take you." Damon is saying, and Katherine gasps, already pulling out her knife, ready to launch herself at Damon. Stefan grabs her around the middle, holding her tightly. Tyler's and Stefan's glares match as they watch Damon figuratively tear Caroline to bits.

Caroline's eyes cloud over with tears, and she takes a step back, shaking her head. "What's wrong with you?" she breathes in shock. This is not how she envisioned this conversation going. To hear him say_that, _and to have him mean it is the biggest taboo in the book. She can't comprehend the words he'd just said. They're almost foreign to her.

"You. _You're_ what's wrong with me." Damon barks, folding his arms across his chest. Gone is the man who held her as she cried and gone is the man that killed another for her. She doesn't recognize him anymore. Everything is completely wrong.

"How could you say that to me? You know what they did-you know what they almost did to me._ Why are you so angry?_" Caroline cries through her tears.

"Because I cared about you!" Damon roars, and she shrinks back. "Because I cared about you and you threw that back in my face." his harsh stance softens as if he's given up, but his glare stays in place.

"Cared?" Caroline repeats in fear. The use of the past tense makes her want to cry.

"Yes," Damon breathes, "I cared about you. I don't know what I feel now, but I _do_ know that I don't want you here anymore."

Katherine sucks in a shocked breath. "Damon, you can't—" she starts, but Caroline cuts her off.

Caroline doesn't care that there are tears streaming down her face. She marches forward, shoving her index finger into Damon's chest, "Fine. _Fine._" she hisses, "I'll go, I'll go as far as you want me to. But you should know that I _care_ about you." she lowers her voice so no one else can hear, "I care more about you than I ever cared about Tyler. And I always will." she digs her finger into his skin and he winces. "I wish you the very best, and I hope you find Elena. Maybe she'll knock some sense into you." she yanks herself away from him as his mouth drops open.

"Caroline—" Stefan says, coming towards her as she stalks to the SUV, yanking the door open and pulling out her bag.

"No, Stefan." Caroline whispers, wiping a few tears away, "Damon's right. I've overstayed my welcome."

Stefan looks completely at loss for words as he stares down at her. He puts a hand on her shoulder. "You're _always_ welcome here." he says softly, "You're family. And I don't give a damn what Damon thinks."

"But_ I_ do." Caroline says, glancing at Stefan's older brother. "If I stay, this isn't going to be the only screaming match. It's too dangerous. Someone will get hurt."

"But-"

"You can't change my mind, Stefan. This is what's best for everyone." Caroline murmurs, putting a hand on his somber face, "Just-just keep an eye on Katherine, 'kay?"

Hearing this, Katherine chokes out a sob before rushing forward and gathering Caroline into her arms. She hugs the brunette tightly and feel Stefan's arms surrounding them both. Caroline pulls away from them, catching her shotgun as Tyler tosses it to her. He comes forward, and doesn't say a word as he pulls her into a tight hug. He presses a kiss into her hair, and she nods before pulling away. There's not much that needs to be said between them. He can feel that she blames him for all of this, though it's not all his fault. She'd kissed him back, after all. She touches his cheek before she turns back to Damon. He's facing away from her, and he swivels around to look at her when he feels her gaze.

"Is this what you want?" Caroline asks, gesturing to her bag.

Damon doesn't skip a beat. "Yes." he says before walking around the SUV and climbing into the driver's seat.

Caroline stands there for a moment. "Alright." she says to herself. She can already feel the loneliness setting in, and she hasn't even left yet. She knows she probably won't survive the night. She knows this is going to physically kill her. She can't bring herself to care.

Katherine presses a kiss to her cheek, and then hands her a walkie talkie. "These are military issued. Wherever you are, if you need us, we'll come to you." Caroline looks down at the tool, nodding. "We'll-we'll miss you. And Damon will, too. I'll do everything I can to get him to change his mind. Don't go far, 'kay? This won't last long. Give it a couple of hours, and he'll be driving back down here to get you. I know it." Katherine whispers, holding Caroline's shoulders.

Caroline nods. "Okay." she says, but she doubts Damon will change his mind. As she thinks this, the SUV starts up. Katherine tears up again as Stefan grabs her waist, hoisting her into the SUV.

"Good luck, Care." Stefan breathes, blinking back his own tears. He climbs in after Katherine, and she watches him hold her as she sobs.

Tyler's last, and he says, "I'm sorry. This is all my fault."

"It's not." Caroline promises, though she blames him a little. He tries to smile, but it comes out as more of a grimace. She urges him into the SUV before he can say anything else. As soon as the door shuts, the SUV is moving. Katherine presses herself up against the window, biting her lip, tears still streaming down her cheeks. Caroline waves, choking down a sob. Damon drives away as fast as he can, and the tears stop pouring from her eyes. _He never cared,_ she decides as she watches the SUV turn a corner. _If he can drive away that fast, without looking back, he never cared._ She huffs out an angry breath, running a hand through her half wet hair. She can't even hear the SUV anymore. She hopes they come back. She hopes Katherine does what she said she would and convinces Damon he's wrong. She prays for that to happen.

Caroline sinks to the ground, dropping her head into her hands.

"Well, _that_ was emotional." a voice says from across the road. Caroline's head snaps up, and she shoots up, shotgun in hand. An attractive man strides across the road, holding his hands up in a surrender gesture.

"Who are you?" Caroline asks, not lowering her gun. They'd scouted the area, there was no way he couldn't have been found.

"My name is Klaus, and this," he turns around, gesturing to someone in the tress. A pretty blonde steps into sight, "is my sister Rebekah."

Rebekah comes closer, holding her hands up in the same way Klaus is. Caroline slowly lowers her shotgun. "Why are you here?" she asks.

Klaus shrugs, "We live in a cabin a few miles up the hill." he gestures to the trees they'd been hiding in. "We've been watching you for some time. We weren't sure if you were safe or not." he smiles at her, then his smile fades, "But those people, were they your friends?"

Caroline nods.

Klaus barks out a laugh, "Well, they left you in a right mess, didn't they?" he murmurs.

Rebekah finally speaks, "Come up to our cabin. It's a safe place to sleep for the night, and we have plenty of food." she tries to smile. The expression doesn't reach her eyes. Caroline can't put her finger on it, but there's something..._off_ about this pair, though they seem nice enough. She's learned not to judge in the new world.

Caroline blinks, "I-I don't know..." she says, shaking her head.

"We insist." Klaus says, smiling at her. His green eyes lock onto hers, and she finds that she sort of trusts him. He seems kind, and it's only for a night, right? So when he holds his hand out to her, she takes it.

"Okay." Caroline says, allowing herself a small smile, "Lead the way." Klaus squeezes her hand, holding it tightly as he takes her across the street and into the trees, Rebekah following close behind.

—

The cabin is nestled into a set of trees a few miles from the road, just like Klaus said. "It's adorable," Caroline says, staring up at the wooden building. She can smell a burning fire inside. Klaus takes her elbow, leading her inside. It's lightly furnished, but there's a couch, a wood stove, and a hallway branching off towards the back.

Klaus leads her to a chair, and hands her a steaming bowl of soup. Caroline looks down at it, before glancing up at the blonde man. He just smiles at her before grabbing his own bowl. Rebekah sits beside her, playing with her hair. "It's been awhile since we saw anyone," she says, sharing a look with Klaus, who smirks, "we're so lucky to have found you. I don't know how we would have survived if you hadn't have shown up."

Klaus nods, "Yes, it's too bad your friends didn't stick around. We would have been set for months, eh, Bekah?" he smirks, and his sister giggles. It occurs to Caroline then that something is very, very wrong. She pokes at the meat in the soup with her spoon, and her stomach drops. She knows the muscle mass and the fixtures of animal flesh, and the meat that's in the soup? It's not animal.

It's human.

"Oh my god," Caroline cries, dropping the soup. It spills onto the ground, the bowl shattering on impact. The liquid stains the carpet, and the meat lands with a thud. Her stomach clenches, and she jumps up, going for her shotgun. Klaus grabs hold of her before she can go anywhere, and throws her back onto the couch. "You're sick!" she spits at him, struggling against him as he pins her down. "Damon!" she screams, forgetting for a moment that he hates her. When he doesn't come, it rushes back to her, and she realizes she's royally screwed. Rebekah sits beside her again. Caroline hadn't even realized she'd left.

Rebekah smooths her hair from her face, smiling softly. "Shh." she says, lifting her hand. A needle glints in her fingers. Caroline bucks against Klaus, but he holds steady.

"I'll kill you." Caroline hisses as the needle pricks her neck. "I'll—I'll—"

It all fades.

—

Caroline wakes chained to a chair, bite marks littering her skin.

She screams and screams and screams. Nobody answers. She's in the cabin, but gone is the nice furniture, and in its place is what looks like a torture chamber. She realizes she must be in one of the rooms in the hallway she'd seen earlier. The crazy cannibal siblings are nowhere to be found. Her restraints are simple ropes wrapped around her wrists, and she thinks that if she tugs hard enough, she can break free. Her shotgun in nowhere in sight, and she curses as she keeps tugging. There's a table beside her chair lined with knives and scalpels. She gulps in fear, and wonders what they're planning on doing to her. The bite marks covering her arms burn, but she's thankful they aren't zombie bites.

Caroline tugs a little harder, but the ropes hold. She stops pulling, huffing out a breath. It's then that she realizes she's been changed into shorts and nothing else but her bra. She shivers as she thinks of their hands touching her. Bile rises in her throat but she swallows it, burying the disgust. What's important is getting out of here. An idea occurs to her then. The walkie talkie Katherine had given her was tucked into her bag. If the terrible two hadn't gone through her bag already, it might still be there. If she can get to it, she can call for help. She hopes Damon will get a hold of himself long enough to come save her._Again._She never should have kissed Tyler. She should have kissed Damon instead. She's not stupid. Really. She's been lying to herself in thinking that she had no idea why Damon was so angry with her. She'd seen the way he looked at her, like she was something beautiful that should be protected and loved and cherished. He might not love her the way he loved Elena, but he _did_ care for her.

That has to mean something, right?

Before Caroline can ponder that anymore, Klaus comes into the room, wine glass filled with red liquid in hand. She's seen enough of it to recognize blood when she sees it. "What are you, a _vampire?_" she snaps as he takes a gulp of the blood.

Klaus smirks, setting the glass on the table with the knives. Blood smears his lips, and she's a little scared of him. "Hush, now." he purrs, "If you're all worked up, your blood will be a bit more steely." he picks up a small parring knife, weighing it in his hands before he steps towards her. He kneels down beside her, "It's a shame you're so lovely." he says, eyes trailing her body. She closes her eyes, willing herself to not think of the auto shop. She thinks of it anyway as one of Klaus' hands works its way up her thigh. She kicks out, catching his leg. He rolls his eyes at her before lifting the parring knife and plunging it into her leg without preamble.

Caroline lets out a scream, tears springing to her eyes. Klaus hungrily watches the blood stream steadily from the wound. He stands up, grabbing his wine glass. He holds the glass against her leg, letting her blood drip into the goblet. The stab hurts even more as she realizes he's been drinking her blood. The bite wounds were from _him._ She gags as Klaus lifts the wine glass to his lips and drains it. He licks his lips, smiling at her. "Lovely," he breathes.

Caroline forgets about the parring knife in her thigh as she spits in his face. Klaus laughs, wiping a hand over his face. "None of that now, pet." he says, striding out of the room, wine glass still in hand. She stares at the parring knife, wiggling against her restraints. She tugs and pulls and pulls and tugs until one of the many knots comes undone on each side. She huffs out a breath, pulling her hand as far forward as she can. She can't reach the knife. She can't pull it out.

She keeps tugging.

—

Something like a day passes. Maybe. Caroline's not really sure.

Klaus comes in every few hours, or what feels like every few hours, and takes a bit of her blood each time. She hasn't seen Rebekah yet, but she's got to be around the cabin somewhere. She's going to take great pleasure in killing them both. She's undone a few more knots, but not enough to break free. Thankfully not enough for Klaus to notice. He'd left a few minutes before after finally pulling the parring knife out. He'd promised her a few hours of rest, and when he leaves, she immediately starts tugging at the ropes.

After what feels like hours, the ropes drop to the ground. Caroline jumps up, grabbing the first knife she sees. It's a butcher knife and it reminds her of Katherine. She can hardly stand on the leg with the parring knife wound, but she surges around the room anyway, searching for her bag. She finds the bag in a corner, contents strewn around it. The walkie talkie is gone.

"Looking for this?" Rebekah says, and Caroline swivels around to see the blonde holding up her walkie talkie. Rebekah smirks at the wound on her leg, and says, "Come and get it, beautiful."

"If you insist." Caroline hisses, coming at her with the butcher knife. Rebekah sidesteps her, and Caroline skids across the floor as Rebekah's foot catches hers. She hits the ground, hissing in pain. She rolls over onto her back just in time to see Rebekah slamming a knife down. She rolls out of the way, jackknifing off of the ground to her feet.

"Where's your brother, Rebekah?" Caroline asks as they circle each other.

"Around." Rebekah says, swinging at her. Caroline ducks under the knife. Rebekah swings again and again, advancing on her. Caroline dodges the knife each time, taking a few steps backwards.

Rebekah knocks the butcher knife from Caroline's hands, and she thinks this is her end until her back hits the table with the knives on it. She wastes no time in grabbing one. As Rebekah lifts her knife, Caroline arcs her arm around and plunges _her _knife into Rebekah's throat. The blonde's mouth falls open as her body crumbles to the floor. Caroline kicks her knife away in a force of habit before grabbing the walkie talkie from her hand. She collapses to the ground beside Rebekah's body, one hand clutching her parring knife stab wound while the other finds the button on the walkie talkie.

"_Katherine._" Caroline breathes, closing her eyes, "Katherine, I need—I _need_ you." she releases the button, huffing out a few harsh breaths.

A moment passes, then the walkie comes to life. "Caroline? Care, we're at the stream looking for you. Damon's sorry! Where are you?" Katherine cries.

"Cabin." Caroline chokes out, "Cabin. Klaus and Rebekah, in a cabin a few miles up the hill across from the stream." she's on the verge of passing out. She's lost too much blood and she's in too much pain.

"Okay, okay, we're coming. Just hold on." Katherine says, frantic. "What's going on, Caroline?"

"Just—just hurry." Caroline murmurs before dropping the walkie talkie. She clutches her thigh with both hands in a ploy to stop the bleeding. If Klaus could see how heavily she was bleeding now, he'd be having a hay day. She opens her eyes, blinking back tears. She remembers what Katherine had said, that Damon was sorry. Maybe she's lying, maybe not. She doesn't care. All that matters now is that her friends save her ass one more time. If they run fast enough, that is. Caroline has no idea where Klaus is, but she prays he won't come home to see a knife protruding from his sister's throat. She snorts. Who's she kidding? He'd probably set up shop on his own sister and traffic her for blood. Fucking disgusting.

Caroline feels a little lightheaded, and she knows she has to stop the bleeding before she passes out. She reaches over, grabbing a hold of Rebekah's t-shirt and ripping a bit of it off. She wraps the strip around her thigh, tying it as tight as she can. She pulls herself into a sitting position against the knife table, holding a knife that had gotten knocked onto the floor during her and Rebekah's struggle tightly in both hands. She doesn't know how much time has passed, but she hopes Katherine and the others are close. As she thinks this, the door opens.

Caroline swallows heavily, shrinking against the table as a set of footsteps sound around the cabin. "Bekah?" Klaus calls, "Where have you taken our guest?" the steps come closer and Caroline scoots around the table until she's out of sight. She knows he's found his sister when he gasps and a cry of pure agony escapes his lips. She takes this as her cue to go. She peeks around the table, and he's kneeling beside his sister, hands on her face. She jumps up while he's occupied, half running, half limping to the open door.

Klaus catches sight of her just as she gets to the door, and he comes crashing after her. Caroline screams as he gains on her, hoping Katherine will hear. She limps/runs to the trees, clutching her leg with one hand and the knife with the other. "Keep going," she urges herself, "c'mon, keep going." tears stream down her cheeks and her leg burns, but she runs as fast as she can. Klaus is ripping through the trees behind her, and he's close enough to grab her, but she doesn't stop.

Caroline looks over her shoulder, meeting Klaus' eyes. He growls at her, and she whips back around, letting go of her leg and dropping the knife, ignoring the burning pain as she pushes herself forward. Suddenly, she slams into another body. Familiar arms catch her before she hits the ground, and she looks up to meet Damon's eyes. "_Damon._" she gasps, sinking to her knees. She curls against him as Klaus quickly approaches. Katherine, Tyler, and Stefan break through the trees just as Klaus does. Klaus' eyes widen, but his gaze remains on Caroline.

Damon lifts his pistol. "Give me one good reason." he says dangerously.

"What?" Klaus breathes, eyes flickering to Damon.

"Wrong answer." Damon growls, pulling the trigger. The bullet slams into Klaus' chest, and Caroline hides her face in Damon's leg as her tormentor falls to the ground. Damon sinks to the ground, lifting her chin. He examines her and his cheeks turn a little pink when he realizes she's only in shorts and a bra. Katherine tugs off her jacket and hands it to him without a word. He wraps the jacket around her in one moment and lifts her into his arms in the next.

"Where's the cabin?" Damon asks her gruffly.

Caroline points, afraid to use her voice. She looks over Damon's shoulder at Katherine, who gives her a sad, grim smile. They trek through the trees she'd run through moments before. When they reach the cabin, Katherine and Stefan clear out Rebekah's body while Damon lays Caroline on the floor in a spot not covered in blood. When Stefan and Katherine return, he says calmly, "Give us a moment." Katherine tugs on Tyler and Stefan's arms, urging them to follow her as she leaves the cabin.

Caroline waits for him to yell and scream and tell her he hates her. She waits for him to berate her for getting herself into a situation like this again. She waits for the anger. But it doesn't come. It never comes. He stitches up her knife wound with the first aid kit from his bag. Then he gathers her up into his arms and presses a firm kiss to her forehead. He holds her tightly and whispers, "I didn't mean it."

**—**

**notes: **edited and re-uploaded.


	8. Chapter 8

**Cinderella Dressed in White**

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—

Caroline wakes up to Damon saying, "She reminds me of her." she stills, feigning as if she's still asleep. She's on a bed, in the same cabin she'd been tortured in some hours ago. Damon and Katherine are sitting on the bed beside her, quietly talking. She shifts slightly, hiding her face in a pillow so they won't see her open eyes.

Damon's leather jacket is tossed over her, and she inhales his woodsy scent. Damon keeps talking, "Elena, I mean. She's so...good. Just like she was..._is._" she hears him sigh deeply. She can imagine the worn out look on his handsome face.

Katherine sighs, too, "Damon...you know I hate to say this, she's my sister, but you know Elena. She wouldn't have lasted a day in this. She's not—she's gone." Katherine's voice cracks, and Caroline feels the overwhelming need to get up and hug the girl, but she doesn't. She wants to know who reminds Damon of Elena.

"Maybe, maybe not. But we have to be sure. I can't—" he sucks in a breath, "I can't _not_ know. I _have_ to know."

The bed dips as Katherine stands up, "Okay, I know. I just—I didn't want to lose her anymore than you did, but what's done is done. After we know what's become of her, we have to move on. With everything." then she leaves, and Caroline can hear her boots clacking away.

Damon runs a tired hand over his face, and murmurs, "I know you're awake," through his fingers.

Caroline blushes, and sits up. She's silent, letting him think, or grieve, or do whatever he's doing. Then, she can't help herself, and she asks, "Do you think...do you think she's really still alive?" she knows she's overstepping, but the words tumble out of her mouth before she can stop them. She doesn't ask the question she really wants to ask; _who reminds you of Elena?_

Damon looks at her, "I hope so. For Katherine's sake." he says.

Caroline tilts her head, "Not for yours?" she asks.

He stares at her for a long moment, and then he's standing. He bends to kiss her forehead, and his lips linger against her skin several moments longer than she's used to. "Rest. The sooner your leg heals up, the better." he mumbles against her skin, and then he sweeps from the room, closing the door behind him. She leans back on the uncomfortable pillows on the bed, and closes her eyes. She doesn't remember much last night after Damon had said "I didn't mean it", maybe she passed out from blood loss. She shivers as she thinks of Klaus plunging the knife into her leg and drinking her blood. Sick fucking sadist. She pulls the covers up over her head and turns onto her side. One hand reaches down, touching the place on her leg where she'd been stabbed. It's bandaged up, and she can't feel any pain. They'd given her something for the pain while she'd slept.

Warmth floods her as she realizes just how far she's come. She has friends, a family. It's the end of the world and she has people looking out for her. She's trying not to be too sad, or too sentimental, but she misses Matt and Bonnie and her mom and dad. She misses Disney movies and sleeping in her own bed. She misses cheer practice and school dances. She misses date nights and movies. She's tried not to dwell too much on the past, but now she can't help it. Damon and Katherine are still clinging to life before, so why can't she?

Her bag is on the floor beside the door, and she sits up, and slowly gets off the bed. She hobbles towards the bag, and kneels down in front of it. A sharp pain shoots up her leg, and she wonders how hurt she'd be if she wasn't on pain killers. She collapses back onto her butt, taking her bag with her. She rifles through it, pulling out the things she's collected since the end of the world. Matt's sweatshirt, pictures, the necklace Bonnie had given her, the Simba stuffed animal, the _Cinderella_ DVD, the coloring book, the _Little Mermaid _book, it's all laid out in front of her. Without really thinking, she puts on the necklace and the sweatshirt, and tosses Simba onto the bed. She hobbles back towards the bed, and curls into the blankets, popping open the coloring book.

She spends the next three hours coloring the entire book, careful to stay in the lines and get the colors just right. She snaps the book shut when she's colored every picture, and she stares at it for a moment. Clinging to the past is pointless, she realizes. She can never go back. Bonnie is gone. Matt is gone. Everyone she's ever loved is gone. Damon, Katherine, Stefan, and Tyler are all she has left. She gets up off of the bed, pulling a pair of jeans from her bag and digging in the pockets for her lighter.

Caroline sucks in a breath, flicks the lighter, and sets the coloring book on fire. She snaps the DVD in half. She rips apart the book. She plucks the Simba from her bed and examines it for a moment. She can't bring herself to destroy it. She strokes it's dirty pelt, marveling at the softness. She tosses it aside, because even if it's cute and soft, it's still a reminder of what she can never have again. She empties her pack of everything; she tosses the pictures of her family away, she tosses Matt's sweatshirt away, she-

"Caroline? What are you doing?" Stefan pokes his head in the door. He takes in the scene, Caroline sitting on the floor, in the center of a great mess. Understanding crosses his features. He opens the door all the way, handing her the water bottle in his hand before sitting on the ground beside her. It's silent while she drinks, and she hopes he won't say anything, but she knows he will anyway. He's that type of person; the type that will try and make you feel better no matter what. She's always admired that about him. He has a way with words, he's comforting. "You can't just toss your entire life away." he says after some time, prodding the burnt coloring book with his fingers.

"Watch me." she mutters, twisting the cap onto her bottle.

"I'm serious, Care." Stefan says.

Caroline shakes her head, "What's the point? I can never go back. It hurts too much to think about."

Stefan digests that for a moment, then he adopts a knowing grin. She wonders how he can smile at a time like this, then he says, "The past can hurt, but the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it."

Caroline lets out a disbelieving laugh, "You know, Rafiki used that line when he wanted Simba to go back." she says.

Stefan shakes his head, still grinning, "No, I think he used it because he wanted Simba to remember who he was. And I know it's hard, but I want you to remember who you are. You're still the girl in these pictures," he picks up the pictures, holding them out to her. She takes them, staring down at her smiling face, "you've just had to grow up and adapt a little bit. It's true that you won't be the same. How can you be? After everything you've seen and done in the past few weeks, you're bound to have changed, but you know what? Change is good. Growing up is good. Adapting is good. You're doing just fine, Caroline. You can keep these pictures and still think of your old life, all while knowing that you can't go back. That's the trick; remembering, but recognizing." he taps her nose, "I know that I can't go back to my senior year of high school. I know that I won't ever be on a football team again. I know all of that, but I've accepted it. I've got Katherine and I've got my brother and I've got you, and since I know that, I can hang on." he starts to stand, putting a comforting hand on her head, "You've got us, and we're never gonna leave you. We tried once, remember?" he snickers as he says this, "Just—just don't worry about the past, and look towards the future. Remember the past, but don't dwell on it." he swiftly exits the room after that, shutting the door behind him.

Caroline sits there for awhile, looking through the pictures. She pulls Matt's sweatshirt back to her and puts on Bonnie's necklace once again. And then, to her embarrassment, tears well up in her eyes. She shuts them, and wet, salty tears ooze down her cheeks. She cries silently, clasping her hand to her mouth when she sucks in a shuddering breath. She doesn't want her friends to hear. She just wants to be alone.

She's not sure how long she cries, but by the time that last tear has streamed down her cheek, she feels ten times better. She shovels the things on the floor back into her bag, and crawls back into bed just as the door cracks open, Tyler stepping inside. "Hey," he says, running a hand through his hair.

Caroline pats the space on the bed beside her, "What's up?" she asks.

Tyler sits, fingers playing with the sheets, "I just wanted to say I'm sorry, for kissing you." he sucks in a breath, cheeks coloring, "I shouldn't have. I saw, I mean, I've _seen _the way Damon looks at you, and I _still_ kissed you. I'm a shitty friend, okay? I used to be such a fucking asshole, you know, before the world got fucked, and I guess that carried over. I'm really sorry I fucked everything up. You wouldn't have been here if I hadn't touched you."

Caroline reaches out, putting her hand over his, "I kissed you back, Ty. It's not just your fault. We all made some mistakes."

Tyler smiles sadly, "It's just—I _really_ like you, Caroline. I think we would have been good together if we'd met before the zombies and the end of the world. But you're different now, and I think—I think you fit better with Damon than you do with me. So, I'm stepping aside, and I'm not gonna interfere anymore."

"Tyler, Damon and I—"

"Have something." he finishes for her. "Damon's stubborn, okay? He won't admit he has feelings for you until he knows Elena's dead. He's..._loyal_ like that, I guess. But I _know_ he likes you. It's so obvious. Just...give him time, and this will all blow over." he squeezes her hand tightly before standing up. He leaves, and she's more confused than ever.

She's stuck on the fact that Tyler thinks Damon feels something for her. She's sort of come to realize it, too, but she doesn't think what he feels for her outweighs what he feels for Elena. If Elena is alive, she won't stand in the way. She'll step aside just like Tyler had done. But if Elena's not alive (she wonders if she's a terrible person for thinking this), then she'll stay by his side, and be whatever he needs her to be. She wonders what Tyler had seen that she didn't; the looks. She'd never realized that Damon had looked at her a certain way, but now that she thinks about it, it's true. When he looks at her his eyes soften and his jaw isn't as tense, like her presence relaxes him. She snuggles deeper into the sheets, hoping there's more of those looks in the future.

Just as she's falling asleep, she wonders once again who reminds Damon of Elena.

—

Caroline woke a few hours later, hand immediately flying to her leg. It throbbed something awful. A hand closed over hers, and she cracked her eyes open to see Damon twisting the bandages off of her leg. "I've got to re-bandage it," he tells her quietly, using a rag to mop up some of the blood. She turns her face away, shutting her eyes again.

It's silent as he works, and she hisses in pain when he jostles her leg too much, "Sorry." he mutters.

"It's fine."

"I mean, I'm sorry for everything." he says. She turns her head, looking at him. "I'm sorry for...saying those things to you. I can't believe I was such—such an..."

"Asshole?" Caroline offers, and he nods.

"I didn't mean any of it. I was just—I was just worried about you." Damon sighs, removing his hand from her leg and running it through his hair, "Everything is just a mess, you know? I can't—I can't do this for much longer."

"What are you saying?" Caroline asks, eyes narrowing, voice dropping.

Damon meets her gaze, "I'm saying, that when I find out if Elena's dead or alive, I'm done. I'm not going to fight anymore." he looks away from her, gnawing on his lower lip. What he's saying sinks in, and it's wrong. She can't imagine a world without him; even if he's not hers. She doesn't think she'll survive if he leaves her, if he becomes one of them. Or...if he just gives up.

Caroline shakes her head, "No, no, stop. You can't say things like that. I—I need—_we_ need you. Stefan needs you, Katherine needs you, Tyler needs you," he scoffs at that one, and then she says what she's been rolling around in her head since he'd entered the room, "and _I _need you." she falls silent, and his eyes bore into hers, and then, the stupid word vomit that she always gets when she's nervous overtakes her, and she says, "You have to stay, even if it's hopeless and you miss your old life. You have to stay or else we'll all die. You can't just give up, you have to keep going, even if it feels like everything you've ever known is falling apart." she reaches her hand out, putting it over his, "Even if Elena's gone, I think she would want you to keep going, if not for yourself, then for her."

Damon gives her a sad half smile, "You're so much like her." he says finally. He lifts his free hand to her cheek, "Kind, incredibly headstrong, unselfish...I couldn't imagine a better person to face this new world with than you." he continues staring at her, almost like he's seeing her for the first time.

Tears prick at her eyes, and she lets out a shaky laugh, "You're such a charmer." she says, diffusing the tension filled room.

Damon drops his hand from her face, and she immediately misses the contact. He laughs loudly, "Thank you." he finally murmurs. She gives him a toothy grin, and then he says, "For everything."

Then he's standing, and leaving the room. She stares at the door even after he's closed it, wondering where their relationship is headed. A part of her, a big part, hopes Elena is alive. She wants to see Damon happy, and she wants to see Katherine happy. Having Elena back would do both things. Another part of her wants to keep Damon all to herself. She shakes her head, _how can I be jealous of someone I've never met? _she thinks, wrapping her arms around herself. She _is_ jealous of Elena. She had them, Damon and Katherine, before Caroline even knew they existed. She laughs to herself, and murmurs, "I never would have met them if zombies had decided to fuck everything up."

Where would she be now?

She'd be in school, paying rapt attention so she could go to the same college as Matt. She'd be going home, doing her chores, then holing herself up in her room with Bonnie on the phone. She kind of misses that. She thinks of Bonnie, her best friend since second grade, and a wave of sadness crashes over her. She'd never even gotten to say goodbye to her. Bonnie had been on vacation in Alabama, spending time with her grandma when things had hit the fan. She remembered being super jealous that her best friend had gotten to go to a city named Madison. Madison was her favorite name, and Bonnie had always promised to take her there, but their plans had always fallen through.

Suddenly, she has an idea. They'll be passing through Alabama soon, and what if...what if Bonnie was still alive? She wonders if her friends would be willing to help her search Madison for any traces of her friend. She's sure they will, after all, they're traveling across the South just to get Virginia.

She stands unsteadily, limping to the door and opening it. She limps through the long hallway she'd seen before until she gets to the living room. Katherine is lying on the floor, tucked under Stefan's jacket, snoring lightly. Stefan has a book open in his lap. Tyler's sitting on the couch, head thrown back, tapping his feet. She giggles. They all look so incredibly bored. Damon is nowhere to be seen.

Stefan closes his book at her laugh, smiling at her, "Hey, Care." he greets her, patting the spot on the couch beside him.

Katherine shoots up at the sound of his voice, looking around in confusion. She scoots back against the couch, Stefan reaching down to run a hand through her hair. Katherine relaxes instantly.

Caroline sits down beside him, folding her hands in her lap. Stefan instantly knows something is up, "What's wrong?" he asks, and Tyler jerks up, looking at her. They're all giving her their undivided attention, and she hopes they won't shoot her idea down. The prospect of Bonnie being alive has sparked some hope in her, and she doesn't want that hope to die anytime soon.

"Nothing is _wrong, _exactly." she starts, smiling a little, "It's just...we're going through Alabama soon, right?" Stefan nods. "You see, my friend, my _best _friend, was vacationing in Madison during spring break-"

Katherine snorts, "AKA, the break from hell." she interrupts.

Caroline rolls her eyes, "I was wondering...do you think it would be possible for us to go to Madison and check it out?"

Stefan stares blankly at her, "Or...you could just give me a day in the city and I'll scout it-"

The door to the cabin opens, and Damon steps inside, "We'll go to Madison." he says before anyone has a chance to ask him where he'd been. He looks at Caroline, "I'm _not_ letting you go anywhere alone."

The _you know what happened last time _is silent, but she reads it in his eyes.

A smile breaks out across her face, and she jumps up, ignoring the pain in her leg and hobbling towards him. She wraps her arms around his middle, hugging him tightly, "Thank you." she breathes against his chest.

He runs his hands down her back, "It's the least I can do." he murmurs in reply. She leans her head back, smiling up at him. He stares back down at her, expression soft, lips tilted into a grin. There's two inches of space between them. She could just lean up and-

"_Get a room,_ good lord." Katherine quips, ruining the moment.

**—**

**notes: **edited and re-uploaded.


	9. Chapter 9

**Cinderella Dressed in White**

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—

_"We should have left you behind. We should have let those men take you."_

Caroline sucks in a breath, shooting up in bed. Sweat pools at her hairline, making the blonde tendrils stick to her skin. She pushes her sweaty hair away from her face, pulling it back into a bun with the ponytail holder around her wrist. She squints into the dark, taking in the figures in the room. Katherine's on the bed beside her, Stefan and Tyler are on either side of the bed, and Damon's leaning up against the closed door, her shotgun in his hands.

_"We should have left you behind. We should have let those men take you."_

She sighs, lowering herself back onto her pillow. She rolls over, pressing her cheek against the cool sheets, facing away from Katherine. She stares at the wall, but the only thing she sees is Damon's angry, devastated face. All she hears are the words he'd ripped into her with. She's not sure why she'd forgiven him so easily, if he could snap and turn on her at any moment. Once she got over the initial excitement at the prospect of being able to find Bonnie, she'd remembered exactly what he'd said to her, and she'd moved as far away from him as possible. It wasn't that she was angry at him, she was more..._sad_, than anything. She couldn't understand how he could say those things to her, and at the time, mean them. Over a _kiss._

_"We should have left you behind. We should have let those men take you."_

Caroline huffs out a breath and scratches at her face, pushing her kiss with Tyler out of her mind. If she could take it back, she would. It wasn't that she didn't like Tyler, she did, she just wanted Damon more. Tyler was sweet and kind and funny and yeah, he was right; if they would have met before the end of the world, they could have been perfect. But she can't go back, and nothing will ever happen between her and Tyler.

"Care?" a voice asks in the darkness. "You okay?" Caroline rolls back over, facing a now awake Katherine. The brunette props her head up on her elbow. "What's wrong?" she whispers.

"Everything I do is wrong." Caroline murmurs, pulling her blanket up to her neck.

Katherine sinks back down onto the sheets, "What do you mean?"

"Kissing Tyler was wrong, coming to this cabin was wrong..." she shakes her head, closing her eyes.

"So you made a few mistakes?" Katherine shrugs, "Who hasn't?"

"I can't afford to make mistakes in this life." Caroline whispers, eyes meeting Katherine's.

Katherine bites her lip, but doesn't say anything. She moves closer, putting her head on Caroline's pillow, covering them both with her blanket. "It'll get better. I promise. I know it seems like hell now, and I know you're confused about Matt and Tyler and Damon, but it'll work itself out. Just—just worry about staying alive, okay?"

Caroline only nods, and hears Katherine say one last thing before she falls into a dreamless sleep.

"And don't forgive Damon just yet. He deserves to sweat it out a little."

_"We should have left you behind. We should have let those men take you."_

—

When she opens her eyes next, sunlight is pouring in through the blinds of the window over her head. She rubs a hand across her eyes, looking around. Everyone is still asleep, all snoring lightly. She can't help but smile. She swings her legs over the side of the bed, pleased at how little her leg hurts. She nudges a sleeping Damon away from the door with her foot, and steps out into the hallway. She walks towards the living room, pulling her hair free from her bun as she goes and letting it tumble down her shoulders.

She grasps her hair in her hands, grimacing. She really needed a trim. She changes quickly into jeans, a white t-shirt, and her boots. The cabin is dark and gloomy, the fireplace still smoking from last night. She pauses, dread filling her body. They'd started a fire, and who knows _what_ had seen it. An eerie calm settles over her as she silently picks her way towards the blinded windows. She pushes the blinds an inch away from the window and gasps. The entire line of trees as far as she can see is filled with zombies. Some crawling, some limping, some walking. They're looming closer, moaning and groaning. She covers her ears, whimpering. This isn't what they need right now. Briefly, she wonders where they'd come from, but decides that it's not important. What's important is taking down the flesh eaters before they find a way inside. The door to the cabin could stop a few, but not the twenty six she counts. "Shit," she breathes.

She backs away quickly, scrambling towards the back room. She bursts through the doors, startling Damon awake. "Get up!" she yells, kicking Stefan and shaking Tyler.

Katherine shoots up, "_What?_ What is it?"

"Look outside." Caroline says breathlessly, already zooming around the room, looking for the bullets to Damon's sniper rifle.

Stefan knows instantly by the fear in her twitchy movements and the desperation in her voice, "How many?" he asks quietly.

"I count twenty six." she says, popping the clip into Damon's rifle.

Tyler shakes his head, yanking a shirt on, "That's impossible. We cleared the area."

Caroline lifts the rifle to her shoulder, "Well," she says, "they're out there, and they're hungry."

Katherine pulls her long hair up into a bun, lips pursed. "What's our plan of attack?" she asks. "The SUV is parked in alcove by the stream. Think we can move past them without getting eaten?"

Outside, the moaning grows louder, and there's tapping against the glass. Caroline somberly shakes her head, "Too late. They know we're here."

"Bullets are precious, Care." Stefan says, "We can't just go out there, guns blazing."

"Weapons free?" Damon suggests, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No way!" Tyler cries, "I'm not getting anywhere near their teeth!"

"_Hey!_" Caroline shouts as they all start bickering, "_Now_ is _not_ the time to do this. All we've got to do is take down enough of the zombies to clear a path through the trees. Then we can get to the SUV and haul ass outta here." the tension vanishes, and everyone visibly relaxes. None of them are too fond of hand-to-hand combat with the flesh eaters. It's too risky. Too many accidents.

Damon looks at her for a long moment, her shotgun in his hands. For a second, she forgets that she's angry at him, and she smiles brazenly. He lifts the corner of his mouth, attempting a sardonic smile, but it comes out as more of a grimace. She can tell he's not excited about this. None of them are. They haven't had to kill anything in a few days. It was refreshing not to have to worry about dying or being eaten or becoming one of _them._ "I'll take point." Damon says, still looking at her. Then, he turns and cracks the door open. With practiced movement, he cocks the shotgun and advances forward.

Katherine falls into line behind him, then Tyler, then Stefan, and finally Caroline. The moaning grows louder as they get closer to the living room. Damon steps towards the windows and rips the blinds down. The zombies beat against the windows furiously, growling. Their skin is sallow and gray, sagging against their bones. She grimaces, imagining the foul odor that wafts off of their bodies.

"They're getting thinner." Stefan murmurs.

"I can count their ribs." Katherine murmurs, further proving his statement. "Less food where it's less populated."

"I don't care if they're starving." Damon snaps, "Let's kill them and get it over with."

"_Okay,_ Grumpy Gus." Katherine mutters crossly. Her heeled boots clack against the floor as she walks forward towards the door, unlocking the deadbolt and the simple lock. She turns back to them, sucks in a breath, and then pushes the door open an inch. The door opening causes an instant reaction and in three seconds flat, the zombies are pushing their way through the door.

Caroline opens fire, flipping her scope up. She can hear shotgun blasts and the swish of a knife and the disheveled groaning of the fallen zombies. The trigger of Damon's rifle sticks, and she growls in irritation. Damon's pulling Katherine back, and she's tugging on Stefan's shirt. Tyler keeps firing his pistol, but falls back to the back room as well. She backs up when she realizes that there are too many, and Damon's stupid gun isn't working. Adrenaline courses through her veins, and she has about five seconds to consider her options before the zombies that are limping towards her can reach her.

"Caroline! Come on!" Damon yells from somewhere behind her. She can either go with her friends, and ensure their demise, or she can put up a fight and make sure that they—her friends—get out alive. She walks backwards quickly, as if she's going to enter the room. When she reaches the door, Damon smiles in relief, and then she slams the door on his face, locking it from the outside before he has time to realize what happened. They bang on the door, yelling her name, but she simply turns around, lifts the useless rifle and slams it down onto the closest zombies head.

The zombie's head explodes on impact, spattering her and the walls around her with brain goo and blood. Caroline grimaces, but keeps swinging. In a struggle, her gun is ripped from her hands. She kneels down, knocking a zombie's legs out from under it and reaching into her boot to pull out her knife. She jumps up, flinging herself forward, slicing her small knife across the throat of a zombie who's mouth is agape and groaning. The knife gets stuck in its dead skin, and she curses, flinging her hands up to deflect the zombie arms reaching for it. She grasps a zombie around the neck, twisting it and breaking it.

Then, there's only one zombie left. It's an inch from her, jaws snapping in her face before she realizes what's happening. She closes her eyes, waiting for the bite. Her friends are safe, her family is safe. That's all that matters.

She snaps her eyes open when the zombie falls at her feet, bullet hole between its eyes. She whips around, gaping at Damon. He lowers his pistol, shaking his fist out. "I had to punch a hole through the door." he says when her eyes widen at his bloody, split knuckles. He steps towards her, eyes roaming her body. She stands stock still at first, but relaxes when she realizes he's not checking her out, but making sure she hasn't been bitten. "Bite free, and completely lucky." is his final diagnosis.

"Ugh, you smell like a rotting corpse." Katherine says, peeking out from behind Damon, covering her nose.

"Thanks." Caroline rolls her eyes.

"Wow," Stefan says, prodding a headless zombie with his foot, "you did work on these guys."

"I think you've found your calling." Tyler smirks, grinning at her.

"Yeah, who needs to be a cheerleader when you can be a zombie killer?" Katherine snaps sarcastically, "Let's get out of here before more of their friends show up." she says in disgust, stepping over the bodies as she walks out the door. She walks right by Caroline, nose in the air.

"She's mad at you." Stefan explains, seeing Caroline's confused looks.

"Why?" Caroline asks, eyebrows shooting up.

"She doesn't appreciate your heroics, and neither do I." Damon answers her gruffly, putting his hands on shoulders and urging her out the door.

"I was just—"

"Doesn't matter. You're safe." Damon mutters, and that closes the subject.

—

The trek to the SUV is relatively calm, save for the looks Katherine keeps tossing Caroline's way, but she'll worry about that later. The SUV is unscathed, thankfully, and they waste no time getting inside and locking the doors. Damon sits in the driver's seat, hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. He glances at her, "Madison?"

Caroline nods. "Madison." her nails dig into her armrest as Damon starts the car, and she tries not to think of him starting the car a day before and leaving her behind. She's trying to get over it, get over him just being able to leave like she hadn't meant anything to him, but it's hard.

Small talk commences, and Katherine and Stefan get into a bickering match about which _Skins_ generation was better, and Tyler falls asleep with his head against the window. Her and Damon have lapsed into a comfortable silence, and she tilts her head back, looking up at the sky through the sun roof. "What are you thinking about?" Damon asks quietly, low enough that Stefan and Katherine can't hear over their squabble. She almost snorts, so they're back to secret sharing under everyone's noses?

"Nothing," she answers, mostly because she doesn't want to tell him what she's thinking at that particular moment. She's thinking that he deserves a good thump over the head, but hey, who is _she_ to give him one? Not Elena, not his girlfriend, as he had reminded her a few days before.

Damon scrutinizes her for a moment, before shrugging and turning his attention back to the road. His hands are tense on the steering wheel, and she smirks. She'll let him sweat it out for a bit. She's not as angry as she was that morning, because he _had _apologized, but she was still a little irked. And she damn well had a right to be.

The time passes in silence, the two day drive to Madison ticks by slowly, and then, when she's pulling herself from a fitful sleep, she finds that the SUV is at a complete stop. "Are we here?" she asks, rubbing a hand over her eyes.

"We're just outside of Madison," Katherine answers, "in the suburban outskirts."

Caroline pulls the map out of the glove box, smoothing it out, and Tyler asks, "Where in Madison does she live?"

Caroline pours over the state map, "Bonnie's grandma lives above her magic shop in the center of the city." she points to a place on the map.

Stefan blinks, "Woah, woah, wait, in the _middle_ of the city? That's gonna be zombie central."

"Then you don't have to come," Caroline snaps, folding the map up and shoving it into the glove box. She makes sure her pistol is situated in her thigh holster, and that her knife is strapped to her belt. She reaches for the door handle, but Damon slaps her hand away.

"Hey, hang on, don't go in there, guns blazing. You'll get yourself killed. We're coming with you, Care." he says.

Stefan nods, "Let's just think about it for a second. We've got to figure out a safe and quiet way to scope out Bonnie's place, okay?"

Caroline reluctantly nods, though all she wants to do is find Bonnie. She doesn't want her other friends to get hurt either. "Yeah, okay. But we gotta hurry. It's been a month since this shit-fuck started. Who knows what could have happened here in that time." she says.

—

They spend the next hour coming up with a plan A, B, and C, just in case, and by the time Damon is folding up the map and starting the SUV, Caroline's bouncing around so much that the vehicle is shaking. Damon claps a hand down on her shoulder. "Calm down," he murmurs, "and keep watch."

"Sorry," Caroline says sheepishly, "I'm just...nervous, I guess."

"I'm sure your friend is fine." Tyler offers from the backseat.

"Oh, I _know_ she is. Bonnie's _always_ fine. No matter what happens. Everything just rolls off of her back. I was always the one who got hurt, I was always the insecure one."

"Sounds like you were polar opposites," Stefan observes, smiling at her.

"Yeah, but she's my best friend, and I'm so happy that you guys are giving me the chance to—"

"Hey," Damon interjects, none of that, "we're family, and family helps family, even if it means travelling into a zombie infested city where we could all potentially meet our ends." he says this coolly, almost with blatant disregard, and Katherine snorts.

"Shut up, Damon." everyone says at the same time.

—

Madison is quiet, but they all know the new world enough to not get their hopes up. The streets are littered with garbage and cars and decomposing bodies. The stench is horrendous. It reminds Caroline of the time she had spent in Texas after everything had gone to shit. Small towns are better, because less bodies, means less zombies, and less zombies, means less death. She's also noticed that they flock to the stench of death. She doesn't know whether it's the blood or the rotting flesh that brings them in, but whatever it is, she wants to be far away from it.

They've only seen a few zombies. The Walkers hadn't spared them a glance as they'd drove by, just continued milling about, minding their own business.

"Why is it so quiet?" Caroline breathes as they get closer to the center of town, towards Bonnie's grandma's store.

Damon suddenly slams on his breaks as they come over a small hill, "I think you spoke too soon," he gulps, staring straight ahead. Caroline follows his line of vision, and slaps her hands over her mouth. The center of town is full to the brim of zombies, of all shapes and sizes. Blood stains the cars on each side of the street, bodies chewed down to the bone are scattered across the pavement, and there are signs hanging on buildings. Red paint (or blood, she doesn't know) has been used to write out: "turn back", "the city has fallen", and "quarantine area ahead".

"What do we do?" Katherine whispers, leaning over the center console to get a better look.

"First, we're going to get out of their line of sight," Damon mutters, rolling backwards until the SUV is behind a shroud of other vehicles, hidden from the Walkers.

"There's no way we can get through them," Tyler says, shaking his head. "It's impossible."

Caroline bites her lip. "I have to get to Bonnie." she states firmly.

"Caroline, there's no possible way to—"

Damon shushes Tyler, and tells Caroline, "We'll get your friend, Caroline. Don't worry. We just...we need to go undetected, or we're all going to die."

"You can't be _serious, _Damon." Katherine hisses, falling back into her seat, "This is _suicide._ I'm sorry, Caroline, but I'm not going to die for a girl I don't even know."

Caroline ducks her head, and fights the, _then why am I travelling halfway across the country for Elena when you won't do the same for me? _She stuffs the words down, because she understands Katherine's unwillingness, but it doesn't mean she accepts. "I'm not asking any of you to come with me." she says quietly. "I'm just asking you to give me a chance."

"All of you just _shut up_ for five seconds," Damon snaps, rubbing his temples. "You're not going alone, Care. We're already established that. And shut your mouth, Katherine. Caroline's helping us find Elena, so you can do the decent thing and help us find her friend." Caroline's heart swells at his words and Katherine's mouth falls open. She gets ready to say something, but thinks better of it. She licks her lips and sinks down into her seat, and Caroline can feel the guilt rolling off of her in waves. Stefan gives her shoulder a comforting pat.

"So...what are we gonna do?" Tyler asks, breaking the silence that follows.

Damon looks at Caroline, and she shrugs. There's not a plan in the world that could prevent any of them from being killed. Damon licks his lips, turning to face the windshield. There's an undecided look on his face, and he reaches up, tightening his seat belt. "Where exactly is Bonnie's store?"

"Two miles north," Caroline tells him suspiciously, tilting her head. "Damon, what are you—"

"Hold on!" Damon hisses at her, and slams his foot down on the gas. Caroline flies forward as the SUV takes off, ramming cars out of the way and mowing down zombies.

"Oh my god!" Caroline screams, covering her eyes as a zombie's body smashes against the windshield, spattering the SUV with brain matter and decomposed flesh.

"Ew, ew, ew, ew," Katherine chants, ducking her head into Stefan's shoulder.

"This is the _worst_ idea you've ever had!" Tyler yells from the backseat, plastering both hands over his eyes.

"Seriously, I'm getting nauseous," Stefan adds, rubbing his stomach, grimacing.

"Shut up, all of you. We're here." Damon snaps, and the SUV slams to a stop. In the next instant, several things happen: Damon jumps out of the SUV, pistol at the ready. She can hear him let two bullets fly, and the thuds that follow let her know he's hit his mark. While she's listening, she kicks the SUV's door open. There's a lone Walker reaching out for her as she jumps from the SUV and she rams the butt of her shotgun into its face. Its neck snaps, and it falls to the ground. Stefan, Tyler, and Katherine jump out after her, brandishing their own weapons.

"Move!" Caroline orders, looking over her shoulder and seeing the large horde coming down the street towards them. It seemed that for every zombie Damon had mowed down, five had taken its place. Caroline shoves Katherine towards Bonnie's grandma's shop, and Katherine kicks the door open, raising her knife. Damon's the last to enter, and he slams the door shut. A thud follows, and then hundreds of fists beat on the door. Moans fill the air, and Damon pulls his rifle off of his back and rams it under the door handle.

Damon rubs his hands together turning around, "That should keep them busy for a little bit." Caroline stares at him, mouth hanging open. He stares back, and her eyes follow a bead of sweat as it drips from his hairline. The tension in the room, between them, is so thick that she could have cut it with Katherine's knife. She licks her lips, opens her mouth to say something, tell him she loves him, tell him she's grateful, tell him she's not mad anymore, and then-

"Um, if you guys are going to fuck, can you wait until we've cleared the shop?" Katherine interjects, eyebrows raising. Caroline blushes, and Damon rubs the back of his neck. Their eyes fall away from each other instantly.

Caroline turns around, taking point. They comb the aisles filled with bogus magic toys and games in a few minutes. And then, just when Caroline's given up hope, a thump comes from above them. Their heads snap up, and Caroline whispers, "The apartment upstairs."

"You go," Damon mouths, nodding towards her. He reluctantly nods at Tyler as well. "We're gonna find some stuff to block the door and see if there's a backdoor."

Caroline swallows, nodding. She really wants to say _no, don't make me go with Tyler, _but the boy in question is giving her a sweet smile, and she remembers their conversation from a few days ago, so she smiles at him and motions for him to follow her. They hop over the counter with the cash register on it and Caroline holds her hand up, signalling for him to stop as she stares at the door leading to the apartment above. She listens closely, and hears the light thump of footsteps, "Someone's up there," she breathes, and Tyler grabs her shoulder.

"I'll take point," he tells her, and she smiles at him, grateful. She's afraid it's Bonnie shuffling around up there, zombiefied. That's not how she wants to remember her best friend, so she's glad Tyler had offered. Tyler pushes the door open, lifting his pistol. A staircase lays before them, and Tyler looks back at her once more before starting up the stairs with quick, precise movements.

The stairs lead them to another door, and Tyler takes a deep breath before pushing it open. Silence follows, and Caroline peaks over his shoulder. Tyler steps into the room. He turns in a circle, "There's nobody here, Caro-" a body flies from the shadows, slamming into him. Caroline screams, shotgun falling from her hands as Tyler falls to the ground, Bonnie's zombie grandma on top of him. They wrestle for an entire second before Caroline's mind kick starts and scrambles for her gun. She jumps back up, cursing her moment of fear, and blows Bonnie's grandma away without a second thought.

Tyler sucks in a ragged breath, rubbing a hand over his face, "Thanks," he breathes through his hands, and Caroline nods.

"Yeah, don't mention it," she mutters. _Really, don't mention it. I don't want the others to know that I completely froze._

"Care-bear?" a voice breathes, and the door across the room that Caroline hadn't noticed before opens. Bonnie, disheveled, dirty, covered in blood, _Bonnie _emerges from the door. Caroline's shotgun falls to the ground once again, and she bounds across the room, scooping the shorter girl up into her arms. Bonnie's arms wrap around her, and she starts to shake. Caroline can feel tears forming in her eyes, and she blinks them away. They're happy tears, but she hasn't cried in a few days, and she doesn't want to break that winning streak.

"Bonnie," Caroline whispers, pulling away, "oh my god, you're alive." she grabs her shoulders, "Have you been bit?"

Bonnie shakes her head, "No, no, not me. Just my Grams. I—I couldn't kill her. I couldn't do it, so I've been hiding out in the spare room until she broke down the door and left. I'm so sorry about her, it's only been a few days since she got bit and I couldn't...I couldn't let her go yet." she wipes away a few tears.

Caroline shakes her head, "No, it's okay. I understand. God...you're _alive,_ Bonnie."

Bonnie's tears turn to laughter, "I know. I know."

Caroline pulls Bonnie back into a hug, letting out a long row of laughter. "I thought...I thought I'd never see you again."

Bonnie nods against her shoulder, "I know. I thought the same thing. I missed you."

Caroline blinks back a fresh wave of tears, and whispers, "Missed you, too." she can feel the pieces of her old life filling in. Facing the end of the world now that she has her oldest friend by her side seems easy. She's so so _so_ glad that Bonnie's alive. She laughs even louder, and they squeal together, like the pair of teenagers they had been just a month before.

"Caroline?" Tyler's voice breaks through the happy squealing, and he sounds confused, dazed.

Caroline pulls away from Bonnie, "Ty? What's—_oh my god._"

Tyler stares at her in horror, holding a hand to his bloody, torn apart, _bitten _shoulder.

**—**

**notes: **edited and re-uploaded.


	10. Chapter 10

**Cinderella Dressed in White**

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Caroline slowly raises a hand to her mouth, choking down the scream building in her throat, "Ty," she breathes, sheer panic slipping into her voice. He's clutching his shoulder with both hands, staring at her. Bonnie chokes, covers her mouth, and backs away.

"This wasn't supposed to happen to me." Tyler whispers, shaking. "I wasn't supposed to—I—we were supposed to find Elena and then we were supposed to go somewhere safe. We were supposed to _live._"

Caroline's eyes well up with tears, "_Oh,_ Tyler," she whispers. She crosses the space between them, wrapping her arms around his middle. He's right, this isn't supposed to happen. She'd always been aware of the dangers, had known any of them could die at any moment, but she'd never thought it could actually happen. The fact that this was the true ending of the world hadn't hit her until she'd seen Tyler clutching his bite. Oh, god, she'd let him get bit.

Especially to _Tyler._ Sweet, innocent, kind Tyler. Oh god, he's going to die and there's nothing she can do about it.

Bonnie's crying behind her, and Tyler shakes in her arms, hiccuping back his own sobs, "I don't want to die." he gasps out, and those words break her. She cries, fat tears oozing down her cheeks, and they only slow when the door behind the three of them opens and Stefan, Damon, and Katherine pour in.

"Caroline, what's wrong—" Katherine stops, "Oh, god." she whispers before falling silent. She turns away, pressing herself against Stefan.

Stefan wraps an arm around her, looks anywhere but Tyler's arm, and blinks repeatedly to stop any tears from slipping out.

Caroline pulls away from Tyler, wipes at her eyes, and turns around. Damon's eyes are on her, and he tilts his head at her. "You know what we need to do, Caroline."

Her mouth falls open. What? No. No, no, no. "No." she cries, shaking her head in disbelief. Stefan and Katherine's eyes widen as the implication of his words click, and Katherine ducks under Stefan's arm to hide behind him. She shakes, whispers, 'we weren't supposed to die', over and over. "We can't do that." Caroline says, "He's—we just can't! Maybe there's a chance! Maybe he won't—"

Tyler cuts in, and they fall silent, "He's right." Tyler says firmly, "I don't..." he swallows, grimacing from the pain of the bite, "I don't want to become one of those things."

Caroline whirls around, "Maybe you won't! Maybe it's not the bite—"

Damon's hand closes around her shoulder, and he pulls her away from the group, taking her out of the room. She struggles in his arms, fighting to get back to Tyler. He's her friend, dammit, and he needs her. Damon holds her tightly, only setting her down when they're down the stairs and into the shop.

He pushes her into a dark corner of the store, away from the eyes of the zombies peering into the windows, "I'm sorry, Care." he says, and he sounds sincere, "There's nothing we can do for him." he cups her face in his hands, stroking his thumbs over her cheeks, "He's dead already, sweetheart."

Caroline furiously shakes her head, "He's not." she croaks, defeated.

Damon sighs, sounding tired, "He is." he says firmly, and her eyes well up with tears. She collapses against his chest, tears staining his already blood stained t-shirt. He holds her, rubbing her back and whispering in ear that is was going to be alright. She doesn't know how or why, but she believes him. She doesn't even care about the things he'd said when he'd left her, it doesn't matter anymore. How could she stay angry at him when he could have been in Tyler's position? When he could have been the one with the chunk torn out of his shoulder? When he could be living the last few hours of his life?

She couldn't, so she cries into his chest and begs him to hold her tighter.

"Caroline," Damon sighs, "we can't stay—" he holds her at arms length.

"No." Caroline snaps firmly, "We're not leaving him. We're family. We stick together. He's not—" she stops, wipes a hand over her eyes, "He's not going to die alone. We're staying."

He blinks, studies her for a moment, and he must sense that she won't budge because he nods and lightly pushes her towards the steps.

—

Caroline sits beside Tyler and rubs his shoulders. He's not crying anymore. Maybe he's accepted it. She doesn't know how he could. She guesses it's just something she's going to have to get used to in this new life. Bonnie sits on his other side, furiously apologizing. "It's okay," he tells her, smiling and flashing her his dimples.

Bonnie blushes, and Caroline almost cries because she can see the connection the two of them would have had.

Stefan's pacing across the room, and Katherine is examining her nails. Neither of them have ever been very good at tackling emotional things head on. She'd seen Katherine cry on Stefan's shoulder earlier, though. Damon leans against the door, arms over his chest, staring at her.

Tyler coughs violently, spitting blood into his hand, and Damon crosses the room, reaching into the waistband of his jeans for his gun. Bonnie stands and crosses the room, wrapping her arms around herself. Caroline jumps up, "No!" she cries, and he shoves her out of the way before kneeling down in front of Tyler and handing him the gun.

Caroline's mouth drops open, and she feels like an asshole for thinking Damon would shoot Tyler when he'd already promised he wouldn't. "Use this when you know you're close to the end." Damon says, and then he lowers his voice and whispers something only Tyler can hear.

Tyler nods, "I get it, bro. I just want her to be happy. She deserves it."

Damon nods, and Caroline blinks in confusion. What? He stands and goes to stand by the door, looking anywhere but her.

There's an air of defeat hanging in the room as they all look anywhere but each other, because they know that in a few short hours, they're going to lose one of their own. Caroline's eyes water as she thinks of Tyler turning into one of them, hungry and crazed. It's a nightmare straight out of a horror movie, but she should have seen it coming, because they're living in a horror movie now. Have been for the past few weeks. She doesn't feel so strong anymore, and she sinks down to sit beside Tyler. She threads an arm through his, and Stefan sits on his other side, mopping up the sweat on his forehead with a rag.

Katherine chokes something unintelligible and yanks the door open, running out. Caroline catches the faintest hint of tears trekking down her cheeks. Stefan jumps up, squeezes Tyler's shoulder, and goes after her.

Silence takes over, and Caroline stares down at the tips of her dirty combat boots.

Bonnie breaks the silence first, "I'm really sorry, Tyler. I'm sorry about my Grams." she sniffs.

Tyler smiles stiffly, "'S okay." he slurs, shrugging.

Caroline wants to shake him, tell him that _no,_ it's _not_ okay. But she doesn't. She just sinks further down into herself, willing her tears to stop coming.

Silence comes again.

—

Tyler hiccups, coughs, chokes on his words, and she knows the end is coming soon. He shakes, the walls vibrating with the force of his movements. "He's having a seizure!" Bonnie cries, running forward. Together, they push him down onto the ground, his head in Caroline's lap. She holds his neck, keeping it elevated. It doesn't really matter, she thinks, because he's going to die soon, probably any minute, but it still feels wrong to let him shake and slur. He's her friend.

Tyler shakes for another five minutes.

Katherine looks away, curling into a corner, and Stefan rubs her arms and tries not to look in Tyler's direction. Damon's staring out the window, perplexed expression on his face.

Tyler's skin is hot underneath Caroline's fingers, and she chokes back a sob. The end is coming. "Just keep holding him." Bonnie whispers, coming to the same realization that Caroline has.

Caroline nods, and starts talking. Rambling, really, "Hey, Ty, you remember when I told you that I've been trying to come up with a name for my shotgun?" she asks, and pauses. He's still shaking, but his eyes are on her face. "Well, I think I've decided on a name."

Everyone is looking at her now, waiting. "I'm going to name it Tyler. Because it's always there for me, it keeps me safe, and I wouldn't have made it this far without it. I wouldn't have made it this far without _you,_ Ty."

Tears slip down Tyler's cheeks, and the irises of his eyes morph from chocolate brown to something darker, and she starts crying again because this is it. This is the end.

Katherine's crying, Stefan's crying, Bonnie's crying, Damon's kneeling beside Tyler, hand reaching for the pistol at his waist.

"Wait!" Caroline chokes, slapping his hand, "Just wait!"

Damon swallows roughly, eyes wet, and nods, sinking back into his haunches. They watch Tyler together, watch his skin turn a ugly grey color, watch his veins become prominent.

"D—Damon," Tyler chokes out, hand reaching out. Damon catches his hand, to Caroline's surprise, and leans down, "I—I...I've got..." he sucks in a shaky breath, "baseball cards in my bag. The ones you need. I was saving—saving them until Christmas, but I guess better now that never, right?" Caroline pulls away, slapping both hands over her mouth. Tears cloud her vision. "You need them to finish your collection, and I want you to have them. I know we didn't get along so great, but—but...I admire you, and I want you to get our family to safety, because I can't help anymore. And I want you to—I want you to be the one to kill me." he stops for a moment, struggling to breathe, "Will you do that for me?" his voice is scarcely above a whisper.

Katherine and Bonnie sob louder, and Damon nods, "I will. I'll take care of them. And you. I promise."

Caroline's eyes meets Damon's, and she nods. He reaches for the gun, gingerly placing it against Tyler's temple. Katherine, Bonnie, and Stefan look away, eyes shining. Caroline can't look away. She won't. She takes Tyler's hand, holding it tightly. He turns to look at her, only her. "Do it." she whispers to Damon, "Do it before he turns."

Damon licks his lips, swallows the lump in his throat, and pulls the trigger.

The gunshot is so loud that they don't hear the glass windows below shattering.

—

**notes:** uh hey. remember me? i still exist. things have just been really crazy lately, i graduated, turned eighteen, and became obsessed with avatar: legend of korra. but i'm back now and prepare to have updates ALL THE TIME. not really, maybe once every two weeks, but i'll try!


	11. Chapter 11

**Cinderella Dressed in White**

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When Caroline was growing up her favorite movie was Old Yeller. Her mom never let her watch it till the very end though, afraid it would traumatize her. One night when her mom had to respond to an emergency call at the station, nine year old Caroline had crawled out of bed, carrying her raggedy stuffed Simba, and had curled up into a ball in front of her TV, forwarding the Old Yeller VHS to the very end. She'd played it right as Old Yeller was called outside, and the gun was cocked-

Her mom was right. It _was _traumatizing. She'd cried for hours, and refused to sleep alone once her mom got home. Looking back on that now, Caroline's tears escalate. Tyler hadn't been a dog that needed to be put down because it was rabid. Tyler was her friend. Her _family. _And now he was dead. She sniffs a little, leaning back on her haunches. The room is absolutely silent until Damon tosses the gun away; looking like he can't believe what he's just done. And oh god, it must be so horrible, having to kill someone like that. She can't even imagine. She would comfort him, would hold him, if she thought that he would let her. But she knows he wouldn't. Not now. Not after what he'd seen between her and Tyler in the woods. She had felt some kind of shift between them in that moment, when she'd seen the crestfallen look on his face that quickly morphed into one of indifference. He cared, she knew. He cared a lot. Katherine jumps as the gun lands by her feet, and she shoves it away with the toe of her boot. None of them want to touch it. Not after it's just killed their friend.

None of them look at what's left of Tyler, either, though Caroline is still gripping his slack hand. She sets his suddenly cold hand down by his side, eyes trying to avoid the bullet hole between his eyes. She swallows roughly, wipes a few tears away. She doesn't know what else she expected. Did she really think that they would all last? That they wouldn't lose a few on the way to rescuing Elena? The world wasn't like that anymore. They couldn't just take a trip to Virginia and expect to make it there in one piece. The thought of Tyler passing hurt, and she wanted to curl into a ball and die with him, but there was still five of them left. Five others to protect. She looks up finally. Katherine's eyes are still watering, and she angrily wipes at them, hating the rare display of emotion. Stefan rubs her shoulders, looking anywhere but Tyler. Bonnie is huddled in the corner, arms wrapped around her knees. Damon…

Damon looks worn, and old. Older than she's ever seen him look. He's still sitting beside her, above Tyler. He's staring at the body of their friend, dismayed.

Tyler wouldn't want this, she thinks. He would want them to keep going. He'd want them to find Elena and a safe haven. And he wouldn't want them to cry. She didn't think he'd like it that they were wallowing in self pity. So Caroline sniffs, wipes her eyes, and croaks, "So what now?" she asks, voice timid. She's trying to be strong, really, but this is probably the most difficult thing that she's ever had to accept. Nobody will get out of this new life alive. Not Matt, not her mom. No one. It was foolish of her to think they would all live happily ever after. This wasn't a Disney movie.

Stefan is the one who answers her, "It feels wrong to leave him like this." He says, fidgeting.

"We can't exactly dig a hole and bury him with a proper funeral." Damon butts in, not sounding very happy about the fact. "Not with what's outside waiting for us. The entire zombie population of Madison knows we're here." He meets the eyes of every individual member of the group. "And they're going to try their hardest to make sure we never leave." Bonnie gulps, eyes shifting. "Look, we've got enough gas in the SUV to make it to Mystic Falls. Plus the tanks we have filled in the back."

"It's just a matter of reaching the SUV." Caroline finishes for him. He gives her a look, slightly tinged with warmth, and nods. "But…at the same time, Stefan's right. Tyler was our friend."

Katherine sits up, "How about a burial fit for kings?" she questions. She pulls a zippo from her pocket, flicking it.

Damon shakes his head, "The fire will attract every Walker in Madison."

"They already know we're here, you said so yourself. Why not keep them occupied while we hightail it out of here?" Katherine questions, eyebrows raised. Caroline has to admit, it makes a little sense.

"Yeah, but what about the process of getting out of here?" Bonnie interjects, "I mean, they're _beating _on the door. How do you propose that we get out?"

Damon stands, considers this. He paces a little, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Is there a backdoor?" he asks Bonnie, and she nods. "We'll take the backdoor, sneak around the mob at the door, grab a gas can from the SUV, and light this place up." He looks at all of them, "Yeah?"

Caroline finds herself nodding, because she wants to get out of this place as soon as possible and never ever come back. She stands, volunteers to lead them out, and heads for the door. They'll make their peace with Tyler and burn him. It's not a proper burial. But it's the only way. She doesn't want his body to be a feast for the next Walker to parade through. And what's the harm in burning a couple of zombies to a crisp on the way out? She hurries to the door, grabs the handle and opens it, turning to ask Bonnie which direction the back door is in, and a hand grabs her, yanking her out of the doorway. Bonnie screams, Stefan shouts, and thousands of dead hands claw at her, scratching her cheeks and tearing at her clothes. Through her own screaming, she can hear Damon scrambling for the gun they'd carelessly tossed. Zombies swarm the stairwell, and oh god, through the grey bodies she can see that the magic shops front window is destroyed, zombies still filtering in. She tries to fight her way out, reaching for the knife tucked into her boot. She stabs blindly at the same time that Damon starts firing. A zombie that had been a little too close to her neck falls, head blown off. She stabs another through the eye, yanks her knife back out, and gets another through the spinal cord. Hands grab her, friendly hands, and she's pulled out of the grey grasps and back into safety. Damon and Stefan close the gap between her and the zombies in the stairwell, both firing their respective pistols. She's gasping, rubbing herself down, feeling for a wound. She hadn't felt a bite, but…

"You're okay." Bonnie whispers in her ear as her sobs get louder, and the only thing she can feel is their dead hands on her. "You're alright, Caroline. You didn't get bitten." She soothes, and Damon slams the door shut, shoving his back against it, Stefan doing the same. Bonnie holds her, and Katherine strokes her hair. Why does this always happen to her? She wonders. She's going to die someday.

"Alright," Damon huffs, looking at her, "how about we forgo the fire and get the fuck out of here?" he nods to the windows behind them.

"There's a fire escape." Bonnie says suddenly, as if she's just remembered. "We can just climb down, one at a time, and get the hell out of Madison before someone else dies."

They hurry to the windows, and Damon drags a desk from the corner of the room and settles it in front of the door. He follows the others, Stefan slamming the window open. Bonnie climbs out onto the thin edge first, hedging a little to the left, catching ahold of the brass steps, pulling herself over. Damon hands her his gun through the window, and she starts the climb down, eyes peeled. Katherine follows, and then Stefan. Caroline stays behind, hands closing around Damon's wrist as the zombies behind the door moan louder, as if they know dinner is escaping. Her eyes are wide, crazed. He cups her face in his hands, asks, "Are you alright?" and she shakes her head, because no, she is not. Suddenly, he presses his lips to her forehead. "You will be. I promise." He takes her hand then, and he's being so tender that it almost scares her, but she knows he's just trying to make her feel better, comfort her after she's almost just died. He holds her hand as they climb down the stairs together, meeting the others. They trek to the SUV, being as quiet as they possibly can, and as they round the corner, their home away from home stands out among the zombies.

Caroline and Damon peek around the corner of the magic shop, watching the zombies still crawl through the window. "I'm not risking anyone as a distraction," Damon says, just ask Caroline opens her mouth to offer. She grins sheepishly, and he rolls his blue eyes, elbowing her. "Come on then." He says suddenly, grabbing her elbow, breaking into a run.

"Hey!" they hear Katherine shout, but they're already to the SUV, piling in. The zombies have noticed them now, and they slowly turn, moaning. Bonnie, Stefan, and Katherine slam against the SUV all at once, climbing through the back door. Stefan rolls his window down as soon as Katherine is safely inside, and opens fire on the monsters edging closer to them. He knocks a few down and Damon is speeding away, running over a few stragglers as he goes.

And still, Caroline's hand is wrapped in his.

—

**a/n: **...hahahaha, oops. this is just a filler to let you know i'm not dead, guys. this story will hopefully be wrapped up in 9 more chapters. and i have most of them written out :) i know you've all probably forgotten about it, buuuuut. here it is! until next time! also, totes unedited.


	12. Chapter 12

**Cinderella Dressed in White**

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Nobody speaks for three days.

The first to break is Katherine. They're parked in front of a small grocery store somewhere in Alabama. Damon, Stefan, and Bonnie are inside searching for supplies while her and Katherine are on watch.

Caroline stares out the window, thinking about Tyler. His smile. His friendship. He had been an amazing person. And it was her fault he was gone. Madison had been her idea.

Katherine pokes her head over the front seat. "You okay?" She asks, hand touching Caroline's shoulder.

She is okay, she supposes. Just sad. Just hurt. "I will be." She decided on saying. It's a positive answer.

"Tyler wouldn't have wanted us to be sad. You especially. He loved all of us, but he cared for you the most. He would have done anything for you." Katherine says.

Caroline doesn't look away from the window. "I know." She murmurs. Tears prick at her eyes and she sniffs. She feels like unloading everything on Katherine. She feels like crying for days. But luckily, the door opens and Damon hops into the front seat.

Caroline hastily wipes her eyes and attempts a smile but it's too late. He raises an eyebrow, and she shakes her head. He gives her a "I know you're full of it but I also know you don't want to talk about it" look and pulls out the map. Damon had been wonderful the past few days. Always watching her, always checking on her, always making sure she was okay. If she was going to open up to anyone it would be him.

She just wasn't ready yet.

Stefan and Bonnie are loading up the groceries in the back and Katherine leans back in her seat, knowing she's not going to get anywhere with Caroline yet.

Caroline wants a real bed tonight. She wants real sleep. Not four hours in the cramped SUV. And she's sure it would make everyone happy. Even Damon.

"I want a real bed tonight, Damon." Caroline says, and he grunts, not looking up from the map. "I'm serious. I want a real bed. Not the passenger seat."

"We're four days from Mystic Falls, Caroline." Damon says, looking at her like she's stupid.

She knows that. And she knows he's thinking about Elena. He just wants to get to Elena. She doesn't let the thought hurt her. "Mystic Falls will still be four days away in the morning." She reasons.

Stefan is grinning as he hops into the SUV, having heard their conversation. "You know, a good nights sleep would really boost your crew's morale, Captain." He winks at Caroline, catching on to her idea.

"Ugh, yes," Katherine says, "and maybe they'll have running water."

Damon glares at all of them, "Alright, alright. But we're not staying at any old crummy Motel 6."

–

The Marriott's parking lot is empty when they pull in. It looks completely abandoned. But Caroline knows how misleading that can be.

"I stayed at the Mariott in Texas once." Bonnie says, staring up at the tall building. "The water went out and they had to use a backup generator. Maybe this one has a generator, too."

"Oh, lord, a shower." Katherine whines, touching her greasy hair.

A shower sounds like heaven to Caroline. Clean clothes, shaved legs, brushed and dirt free hair. She almost cries at the thought. She gathers up her backpack and follows the others to the front glass double doors, still thinking about the endless shower possibilities.

"Stay on guard." Damon instructs them. "This is a big building. There's bound to be Creepies in here somewhere."

They all nod, and he pushes the doors open. Damon takes point, Stefan, Katherine, and Bonnie following while Caroline brings up the rea

r. The lobby is empty. But chairs and tables are overturned and paperwork litters the ground. And there is blood on the floor. The infected had been here.

Damon hops over the front desk, digging in the drawers. He comes back with a key. They head towards the stairs, hope in hand.

The trek up the stairs is quiet, save for Katherine's huffing. "I knew these heels were a bad idea." She gasps, tottering on her stilettos.

Stefan grabs her hand, "Just two more flights, sweets."

Damon gags at them, and calls for Caroline to walk with him. She jogs up the stairs between them and comes to his side. "How do you feel about a penthouse suite?" He asks.

"I think it's a great idea." Caroline says, smiling at him.

"Ew, you guys, stop being all smiley." Katherine moves around them, going up the next flight. Caroline flushes when she realizes they've been standing in the same spot for a full minute, just smiling at each other.

Damon follows Katherine and Stefan, all three bickering. Bonnie bumps her shoulder against Caroline's. "We are so talking about that later."

"Talking about what?" Caroline feigns innocence. Bonnie rolls her eyes, and grabs Caroline's hand, pulling her up the stairs.

They come out of the stairwell, catching their breath. The group stands at the mouth of a long hallway. The carpet is crisp and clean. Not a drop of blood in sight.

Damon moves forward, "Let's check in, shall we?"

Katherine runs after him, "I call the shower first!"

"Hey!" Bonnie cries, chasing Katherine, "No way! You can't call dibs!"

Stefan shakes his head at them, "Lunatics." He murmurs fondly, smiling at Caroline. He holds his arm out for her to take. She happily takes it, and they follow their family to their room.

–

The room is glorious.

A balcony, bay windows, high ceilings, multiple rooms and velvet couches.

And the best part? No bloodstains. This room had been untouched by the dead.

Caroline spins in a circle around the room, amazed.

Katherine comes from the hallway, "Hey, you guys." She interrupts their ogling. "Listen."

They all quiet down, and distantly, they can hear the sound of running water hitting tile. "The shower works!" Katherine all but screams.

Damon and Stefan high five while Katherine throws her arms in the air in excitement.

Smiling, Caroline searches her backpack for shampoo. The only thing that would make this day better was if Tyler was there to see it.

But she would never see Tyler again. He would never laugh and smile and he would never open his eyes again. She fights the tears and tries to push all thought of him out of her head.

Katherine skips up the her, "Hey, aren't you excited? I can't believe there's running water– Caroline? You okay?" p/p Caroline sniffs once, and her vision is clouded with tears. "Oh. Oh, sweetie. You can take the first shower and clean yourself up." Katherine holds Caroline's hand and shoves her way through their friends, Caroline stumbling after her.

Damon breaks away from Stefan and Bonnie, worried eyes on her. "Care?"

It's too late because her knees are hitting the carpet and she's gasping for air. Tears stream down her cheeks and she's all but shrieking. She sobs into her hands, back hunched. Katherine's hands flit around her, unsure of what to do.

"I can't." She gasps. "I can't stop. My fault."

Tyler's death is her fault.

"Oh, no, Caroline. It's not your fault." Stefan says, trying to be soothing. She just cries harder.

"I can't stop." She gasps for breath, clutching her hands to her chest. Suddenly, strong arms scoop her up and she's cradled against a warm chest. She can hear the sounds of the shower coming closer. She's set down in the bathroom, and Damon pulls her shirt over her head. She's not even embarrassed. He undresses her down to nothing and helps her into the shower.

The water is warm and the stream is heavy. The steam dries her tears and she can finally breathe again. She can already feel weeks of dirt melting off of her. She hears the bathroom door open and she panics. She needs Damon here.

"Don't go." She croaks.

The shower curtain is pushed aside, and fully clothed, Damon steps in. He doesn't look at her naked body. Just keeps his eyes level with hers. He puts shampoo in his hands and reaches out to her. She stumbles into his chest and he washes her hair. His fingers massage her scalp and she quietly cries into his chest. She doesn't even know what she's crying about at this point. Maybe everything?

Damon conditions her hair and holds her tightly as the water runs over them both. They stay like that for a long time. Finally, the water runs cold and she starts to shiver. Damon hops out, and returns with a towel. He scoops her up and carries her to one of the many bedrooms. He deposits her onto the bed and promises he'll return in a moment.

She sits on the edge of the bed, shivering. He comes back with her backpack and helps her dress. She climbs back onto the bed, huddling under the blankets. Damon tucks her in. "It's going to be okay, you know. It's okay to miss him. It's okay to be sad."

Suddenly, she's angry. Damon hated Tyler. "You didn't even like him. And now he's dead." She snaps.

She hopes she imagined his hands flinching away from her. She hadn't meant to hurt him. It had just came out. He stays quiet for a long time and she wants to cry again.

Finally, he says, "But I like you." before he pulls away from her and closes the door behind him as he leaves.

She cries for a long time after that.

–

Hours later, the bedroom door creaks open. She blinks her eyes open, willing them to adjust to the darkness. A hand runs itself over her hair for moment before pulling the sheets back. A warm body slides in beside hers. She touches Damon's cheek. His scruff is gone and his aftershave smells like heaven. He smells clean and wonderful. She curls her body towards him, but doesn't close the space between them. Not after what she'd said.

It's quiet for awhile, and then, "I have to tell you something." Damon murmurs.

"Okay."

"I love Elena."

"I know."

"I love Elena, but I don't want to find her for myself anymore. Only for Katherine."

Caroline is quiet, unsure of what she's hearing. "What are you talking about?" She croaks.

Damon sighs, "How do I tell Elena, who I thought was once the love of my life, that I.." He pauses, seems to choose his next words carefully, "that I care for someone else?"

"You do?" Caroline whispers.

"Yes." Damon whispers back. "I care for you, Caroline. Even though you're the most infuriating and stubborn woman I've ever met. I care for you."

"I..I don't know what to say." Caroline murmurs. Her heartbeat is going wild.

Damon rolls onto his side, running the pad of his thumb over her bottom lip. "Then don't say anything." He says quietly as he leans in. When his mouth meets hers, she swears everything inside of her explodes. She can hear her heart beating in every single part of her body. His hands stroke her face, her arms, her hip. He holds her like she's the last thing he has.

After what feels like hours of no words, just lips on lips, Caroline's eyelids grow heavy. Warmth spreads through her chest at the thought of his words earlier. She is cared for.

She is content. She is happy. She is warm.

She is content and happy and warm for the first time since Tyler.

A gentle kiss is placed against her forehead, and a warm arm is thrown over her middle.

She is cared for.

–

A/N: *awkwardly waves* yeah hi I'm still alive. I know this took forever but I honestly forgot about this story. But have no fear! I will never ever ever abandon this story. Even if it takes me the rest of my life to finish it. That's a joke by the way. It won't take that long. Things are starting to get wrapped up now. A few more chapters and we'll be finished. Until next time!


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